A volunteer who was busy preparing food parcels was forced to lock himself inside the Suffolk Baby Bank's hub as offenders tried to force their way inside.

The attempted burglary happened at around 6.20pm on Tuesday night, when one of the charity's volunteers was working late at its Stanton Community Hub to prepare parcels for families in need.

The volunteer said offenders tried to gain entry to both the front and rear doors, but luckily did not manage to get inside.

Klaire Peck, founder of the Suffolk charity, described the incident as "mindless crime", adding it could have been heart-breaking if they had managed to steal stock which is given out to those in need.

"I can't understand why someone would do it," she said.

"We help hundreds of families a week and this could have had a huge impact if they had stolen stock from us, especially with the new lockdown as everyone is struggling right now.

"Luckily we have such a lovely community around us, who are supporting us and have done so throughout the pandemic."

A GoFundMe page has since been set up by Charlotte from the Dunelm store at Bury St Edmunds, to try and raise funds to get CCTV installed at the baby bank's premises.

It has already raised more than £300 towards getting a CCTV system fitted, which Klaire said will help keep her team of volunteers safe when working in the evenings.

She said more of her team have been working outside of their normal working hours due to a rise in families needing their support because of Covid-19.

A spokesman for Suffolk police said: "We were called shortly before 6.30pm yesterday, Tuesday, January 5, following reports of an attempted burglary at a business on the Shepherds Grove Industrial Estate East in Summer Road, Stanton.

"A person on-site reported that suspect/s were attempting to enter the building but after a number of attempts they eventually drove away.

"Officers attended and carried out enquiries. No damage was caused or entry was gained."

Anyone who witnessed anything suspicious in the area yesterday around the time stated is asked to contact Suffolk police, quoting CAD reference 281 of yesterday January 5 2021.