A COMMUNITY bungalow that was forced to close after vandals broke in and caused ‘massive’ damage reopened after a mammoth effort from volunteers.

Last December the Greenfields Community Bungalow, which is managed by GGO West Winsford and owned by Weaver Vale Housing Trust, was broken into.

Callous thieves stole the bungalow’s TV, laptops, computer consoles and games, tuck shop sweets and cash.

To add insult to injury, they also set powder fire extinguishers off which caused massive damage to the children's toys books and work.

Volunteers from GGO West Winsford, a community initiative, pulled together to bring the community bungalow back to its former glory, for its relaunch on February 27.

“It’s been better than we imagined,” ‘Go Getter’ Charlotte Burkhill, 32, said. "Residents were signing up to be volunteers. We saw so many more faces than we were expecting.

“It’s amazing how many people turned up and said it was absolutely brilliant. Loads of people were saying they wanted to help, asking how many hours we needed.

“We knew people supported what we did, but we just didn’t know how much.”

The relaunch was attended by a number of support groups as well as the local police community support officers, who will be keen to see a repeat incident doesn’t happen again.

Winsford Town councillor for Verdin Ward, Tom Blackmore, also attended the relaunch to show his support for the community initiative.

“The break in was unfortunate particularly because of the damage that was caused,” Cllr Blackmore said. “It could have been children from that community. Children will break into anywhere.

“It’s a great thing when communities come together like this though, and hopefully the PCSOs will keep a good eye on it now”

Charlotte, like every other volunteer for GGO West Winsford, has put many hours into making Greenfields Community Bungalow something she and the community can be proud of.

“It’s so rewarding to see the reaction from all hard work we have done,” she said. “It’s a real morale booster.

“I’m proud to be a part of it, and after everything that happened, after all the negativity we had, it turned out to be bigger and better than we ever imagined.”

To find out more about GGO West Winsford , visit www.wvht.co.uk/ggo-west-winsford