More than two-and-a-half years after HBC moved into its new civic centre, there are still question marks over some of the logic and decision-making involved.

After our in-depth investigation, The Stray Ferret would like to know: 

• Full details of which other sites were considered and how the costs of these were calculated 
• Why the council didn’t apply for planning permission for homes at Knapping Mount to assess its true market value 
• Why a town centre base was deemed essential – even though Knapping Mount is in a largely residential area 
• Why such an unusual design was chosen and whether more traditional options were costed up before the decision was made 
• The detail of the financial claim made by Harry Fairclough Ltd to HBC, which the authority disputes 
• The full costs on top of the build, including all fixtures and fittings – IT, flooring, furniture and other essentials 
• Why the publicly discussed cost of the project not take account of the value of the land on which the civic centre was built 

In its preparations, HBC said the new civic centre represented “good value and careful use of public money”. Our investigation calls into question whether that was the case. 

It is now for the public to decide whether £17m really represents the best possible use of public funds. 

Read more:

• Revealed: The true cost of Harrogate’s civic centre
• The design choices that pushed up the price of Harrogate’s civic centre
• The option dismissed by HBC that could have saved £7m
• Parking, efficiencies and devolution: is the civic centre delivering value for money?

As the council faces unprecedented financial challenges and a possible £15m deficit, with inevitable cuts to services ahead, could more prudent choices over the civic centre have placed it in a better position to support local residents?  

And with the looming possibility of changes to the structure of local government in North Yorkshire, was it prudent for the council to invest so much money in a headquarters that may not be needed within just a few years of being completed?

The National Audit Office, which examines local councils’ use of taxpayers’ money, says: 

“Local public bodies are required to maintain an effective system of internal control that supports the achievement of their policies, aims and objectives while safeguarding and securing value for money from the public funds and other resources at their disposal.” 

The council’s external auditors have signed off the accounts for the years when those decisions were made.

So we ask taxpayers: was it worth it?

The Stray Ferret has today asked Harrogate Borough Council for a response to our investigation and will publish this when it is received.

Since publication of our first reports yesterday, the council has posted a series of tweets responding to our findings and questioning our sources.

In the course of our investigation, The Stray Ferret contacted and interviewed a number of established, independent estate agents, architects and quantity surveyors. Each gave us their honest opinion based on their expertise but, as they all work in the local area, they asked us not to identify them in our reports.

The new civic centre constructed by Harrogate Borough Council cost the taxpayer at least £17m, The Stray Ferret can reveal. 

From its choice of an expensive round building to opting to use a highly valuable piece of land, the council wasted millions of pounds of public money. 

The council argued at the time that it offered value for money. Our investigation shows that, because the potential value of the land at Knapping Mount was never fully revealed, taxpayers were not given a true picture of the overall costs involved. 

Over the next few days, we will investigate: 

• A building which cost millions – but will be very difficult to sell 
• A site which could have been hugely valuable if sold 
• Other options dismissed as too expensive, but full details have never been revealed 
• A site put forward at the time which would have saved £7 million 
• Continuing concerns over issues including parking 
• The savings promised by the council would have been achieved on any other site 

The new civic centre at Knapping Mount

It is our belief that the council chose Knapping Mount because it wanted to create a landmark building in the town centre.  

Now, with a true picture of the costs, the taxpayer can decide: was the new civic centre worth it? 

How did it cost £17m?

The contract awarded to builder Harry Fairclough Ltd for the construction was worth £11.5m.  

The final bill has not been settled: the contractor – now in administration – believes the council should pay more, but HBC views £11.5m as the fixed cost. 

The Stray Ferret has conducted an investigation into the value of the land on which it was built. We believe that value is at least £4.5m.   

On top of that, almost £400,000 was spent on furniture. Total costs for flooring, IT infrastructure and other essential fittings have never been confirmed and could add even more to the cost.

A total spend of £865,000 was approved in 2013 for appointing a professional design team and for design, pre-planning and project costs. 

The unique round design of the new civic centre would have added a significant amount to the cost of the project. Experts have told The Stray Ferret that a curved design can add an average of 20% to the build cost. 

That all means that the total cost of the project was more than £17.2m. 

Read more on our investigation: 

• Expensive design choice as HBC sought to ‘express the nature of democracy’ 
• Better value option dismissed as council pursued town centre base 

Why was Knapping Mount so valuable?

Historically Knapping Mount was designated employment land because it had council offices on it.  

In 2014, though, the site had been earmarked for 52 homes in documents being prepared for the council’s Local Plan. That meant the land would have got planning permission for housing, and its value would have shot up. 

Yet, as it worked out the costs for its new civic centre, HBC chose not to explore this. It could have applied for formal planning permission and then had the land valued. Without this information it could move to Knapping Mount without having to be clear about capital it could have raised from the sale of the land.   

The Knapping Mount site, off Kings Road, before the new civic centre was built

A letter from Harrogate Civic Society to HBC in 2013 clearly shows the potential value was raised before any decision was made: 

“We have obviously had no access to confidential property reports but have concerns that only a boutique hotel use is mentioned for Crescent Gardens, no apparent appreciation of Scotsdale as apartments or Springfield House as a budget hotel in cooperation with Holiday Inn or appraisal of the fact that Knapping Mount and Brandreth House form the most valuable residential site in the Council portfolio.” 

In its own documents assessing the site, HBC said that building on Knapping Mount meant the loss of a “significant capital receipt” – but never went into detail about just how much that could have been.  

In a request under the Freedom of Information Act, The Stray Ferret discovered that the council last had the land valued at the end of 2017. That valuation was £1.83m – but it was no longer earmarked as housing land and the civic centre had already been built.  

Our question is: why didn’t the council properly value the land for housing before the move and make that value public? 

How did we get a figure of £4.5m for the land?

After talking to experts and making comparisons with sites nearby we have put a figure of £4.5m on the land. Throughout our investigation, we have sought expert opinion and always opted for a conservative estimate.  

The nearby Springfield Court, at the junction of Kings Road and Springfield Avenue, was sold in 2017 for £4.835m with permission to convert its offices into 35 two-bedroom apartments. That development now has an extra 26 flats being built taking the total number of apartments there to 61. 

Knapping Mount, which is twice that size, was earmarked for 52 dwellings in 2014. Those properties could have been either apartments or houses and a developer could have chosen, like Springfield Court, to build higher and apply for permission to add more flats. Of those, 40% would have been designated affordable housing, and the site is in a conservation area, both of which affect its value.  

With advice from local experts, we have conservatively put a figure of £4.5m on the land.  

While the council could argue this was not a cost because it already owned the land, the fact remains that they could have sold it and banked the cash. 

But that’s not all we have found. In the next of our series of reports, we show how an expensive design bumped up the cost – and how they could have done it all for millions less.

Next:

• Council chose expensive design to ‘express the nature of democracy’

The bespoke circular design of Harrogate Borough Council’s new civic centre could have cost taxpayers an extra £2m. 

Speaking to The Stray Ferret, several local architects and quantity surveyors have estimated that curved design adds anywhere between 15 and 35% to the cost of building. Conservatively, we have estimated 20% for the additional cost at Knapping Mount.

The contract with builders Harry Fairclough Ltd was awarded for £11.5m. Using the 20% uplift indicated by experts, a more conventional design for the same square footage could have come in closer to £9.5m. 

Not only that, but the unique design of the building has made it very difficult to extend compared to a rectangular building. 

What were the reasons for that choice? In its planning application, HBC rather grandly said: 

“The circular plan form derives from a number of influences including the desire to express the nature of democracy and local government through a circular debating room which is located at the centre of the building.” 

It talked about creating a ‘one council’ culture through working in one place, serving as a main civic hub for the district, and said the design was influenced by a need to offer “good value and careful use of public money”. 

Read more on this investigation:

• Exclusive: Stray Ferret investigation reveals true cost of new civic centre
• Council rejected business park option that would have saved £7m

Why are round buildings so expensive?

Architects who spoke to The Stray Ferret said there are several reasons why curved construction is a more expensive choice. 

Each aspect of the build becomes more complex, from inserting square objects such as doors into rounded walls, to joining walls together and ensuring a watertight finish. 

Then the furnishings come into play. Flooring for a circular room is more expensive because there is more waste, while specialist furniture is needed to make the most of the space – otherwise, standard furniture leaves awkward, unusable areas.

At Harrogate’s civic centre, an astonishing 27 CCTV cameras are in place to monitor all the building’s facets, compared to just three in the district’s public parks. 

An architect’s drawing of Harrogate’s new civic centre

Local specialists who spoke to The Stray Ferret said it is much harder to use space efficiently in a room with curved walls, leading to a larger square footage being required to accommodate the same number of staff as a rectangular building.

One expert described the civic centre’s design as “ludicrous”. He told The Stray Ferret that the new civic centre is so bespoke that it would be hard to adapt for another purpose, leaving question marks over its potential resale value if it is no longer needed.

In the third part of our investigation, we look at what other options were available to the council – and how much less it could have cost the taxpayer.

Next:

• The dismissed alternatives – including one which could have saved £7m

In the third part of our investigation into the cost of Harrogate Borough Council’s civic centre, we examine how the council has publicly justified the decisions it made – and that cheaper options were set aside in favour of a town centre location.  

HBC has always framed the new civic centre as offering good value to taxpayers. In this report, we will explore the way the council has justified the money it spent and reveal that another option it dismissed would have come in at around £7m less.  

How the council justified Knapping Mount

In 2014, before the decision to move was made, a Conservative campaign leaflet stated that £9m was the gross figure and, following sales, the council expected the project to cost £5m.  

Taken from a Conservative leaflet distributed to local households in 2014

The final sentence of Cllr Cooper’s quote is particularly interesting:

“This consultation takes the politics out of the argument and gives the full facts.”

It later emerged £11.5m was the value of the contract awarded to the builder.  

HBC said that was always the ‘gross’ cost. The ‘net’ cost was £11.5m minus the income it made from selling its other buildings.

The leaflet distributed by the ruling Conservative party says otherwise.

What did the council sell to fund the move?

In moving to Knapping Mount, Harrogate Borough Council sold the following properties: 

• Crescent Gardens – £4m 
• Scottsdale House – £1.9m 
• Victoria Park House – £1.2m 

The total receipts for those came to £7.1m.  So according to the council’s argument, Knapping Mount actually only cost £4.4m to the taxpayer.   

Yet the cost of any commercial project is always the cost of the build plus the value of the land. Regardless of what was sold, how it was funded or what they offset to make it look cheaper, HBC spent £11.5m on the build and used a site worth £4.5m. 

Using their own logic, the council could have sold Knapping Mount with planning permission for housing and added that money to the pot, giving an income of £11.6m.

The alternatives

At the outset of the project, HBC commissioned a report into the options available. As well as staying in its existing offices, it considered buildings and sites around Harrogate. 

However, the full details of those sites have never been released. A summary document was presented to the cabinet for consideration, referring to a number of sites and costs including: 

• Hornbeam Park – £11.3m 
• Beckwith Knowle – £9m or £17m 
• Pannal – £20.5m 

How these figures were calculated – and which specific sites or buildings they referred to – has never been revealed.  

What is evident from the report, however, is that, alongside its aim of bringing all staff onto one site, HBC was determined to maintain a town centre presence.  

The same report also recognised the high potential value of Knapping Mount, but HBC opted not to realise this. In recommending to build on the site, with an indicated cost of £13 to £13.7m, it says: 

“Retaining the site does mean the loss of a significant capital receipt.” 

Read more on this investigation:

• Exclusive: Stray Ferret investigation reveals true cost of new civic centre
• Council chose round design to ‘express nature of democracy’

£7m to stay in the town centre

Another site at Hornbeam Park was offered to the council in August 2014 – more than a year before work began at Knapping Mount – at a total cost in the region of £10.5m. Two hectares of land would have cost around £1.5m and a rectangular build of the same square footage as the civic centre would have been no more than £9m, even for a high-spec finish. 

We would like to make it clear that Chris Bentley, from Hornbeam Park Developments Ltd, is a supporter of The Stray Ferret but has no involvement in any editorial decisions taken by this publication. For more information, click here. All information given to us for this report was assessed and included on its own merits.

Costed up by the council at the time, the Hornbeam Park option was put at £11.9m. Though the details of this total cost have never been made public, the higher value could include an allowance for retaining and refurbishing one of the council’s town centre buildings. The report on the investigation into this option says it “prevents a single site solution” and, being out of the town centre, “results in requirement for additional town centre customer service centre”.  

The Hornbeam Park option only prevented a single-site solution because the council was absolutely determined that it needed to be in the town centre.  Although high quality, the simple rectangular design would have been cheaper. 

The council headquarters put forward at Hornbeam Park were rejected

An office on the business park could have placed HBC adjacent to a railway station, giving ease of access for anyone using public transport. A bus route had previously existed between Hornbeam Park and the town centre, which HBC could have reinstated.  

The proposal suggested up to 177 parking spaces – 82 more than the civic centre now has – for anyone travelling in a car. And the growing trend for working online means most residents will never have cause to visit the civic centre anyway, on foot or otherwise. 

Harrogate Borough Council itself said in a 2014 report that visitor numbers were expected to decline: 

“Visitor allocation is included within the proposals for the Knapping Mount site; this is currently shown as five spaces but could be increased by the redesignation of six of employee spaces at the side of the building. This allocation is being carefully monitored and visitor surveys will continue to take place as the council moves towards the new accommodation, this will be necessary as the visitor numbers could decrease due to the channel shift effect of more services being deliverable online or via telephone.” 

Was being so central really necessary? Serving a district of more than 500 square miles, was it essential for HBC to be located in Harrogate town centre?  

Using their logic and offsetting the income from the sale of all the sites, the council could have had £11.6m to put towards the new civic centre. At a cost of £10.5m, this would have left £1.1m in the bank.  

Tomorrow:

• Is Knapping Mount delivering on promised savings?
• The problem of car parking at the new civic centre

Read The Stray Ferret on Tuesday morning for the full story.

A young robber has been jailed for nearly four years after a vicious attack in Ripon in which the victim was punched repeatedly and forced to hand over money.

Ethan Anderson, 20, who has a track record of serious violence, pounced on the victim as he walked through Ripon city centre, York Crown Court heard.

Anderson, a drug addict, was with a group of youths sitting on a park bench, who hurled abuse at the man as he tried to walk away, said prosecutor Caroline Abraham.

Anderson confronted the victim, an Asian man who was named in court, and said: “You think you’re hard, do you?”

He punched the victim in the face and struck him in the eye, said Ms Abraham.

The victim tried to run away but fell over and Anderson punched him in the head while he was laid on the ground.

He finally managed to get away, but a short time later Anderson and three other males confronted him again in a car park near Ripon Cathedral. Ms Abraham said:

“(Anderson) walked towards him and demanded money. The defendant put his right hand into his pocket and gestured (as if) he had a weapon.”

Anderson told the victim: “Do you know what I’ve got in my pocket? Give me your money.”

“The victim handed over £20 to (Anderson), who did not have a weapon,” added Ms Abraham.

The victim suffered injuries including a swollen eye, bruising to his cheek and a grazed hand.

Anderson, who was addicted to cocaine, was arrested after the victim identified him about a month after the attack at around 9pm on June 27 last year.

Lock knife

On October 15, Anderson was arrested again after police were called out to a “domestic” incident in Ripon. Officers searched him and found a lock knife in his pocket.

On December 8, police were called out to North Street in Ripon, where Anderson was seen waving a tyre iron in the air during an altercation with another man outside the Wonderland bar.

Just before the incident, Anderson could be heard “shouting for an individual inside the bar, saying he was going to smash his head in”, said Ms Abraham.

“Another male approached the defendant and an altercation ensued. The defendant was brandishing a metal tyre iron and waving it at the male, shouting ‘Come on then!’”

Read more:

• Police ask parents to help reduce anti-social behaviour
• Police admit response to Stray gatherings ‘not 100% right‘

Anderson was arrested but denied affray and possessing an offensive weapon. He was found guilty of the charges following a trial at Harrogate Magistrates’ Court in June.

He ultimately admitted the robbery in the Ripon car park and also pleaded guilty to possessing the lock knife in a separate incident.

Anderson – from Ripon but of no fixed address – appeared for sentence on all charges via video link on Monday. The court heard he had 14 previous convictions for 26 offences, mainly violence and public disorder.

His rap sheet included two previous convictions for robbery, as well as possessing weapons.

‘Drugs were my escape’

Defence barrister John Batchelor said Anderson was now apologetic for his behaviour following a period of “forced abstinence” from drugs while remanded in custody.

Anderson, a father-of-one, had written a letter to the court saying, “I did unforgiveable things” and “drugs were my avenue of escape”.

“The cause of these offences was drugs,” added Mr Batchelor.

Judge Sean Morris said it was “time for a shot across (Anderson’s) bows” following his third robbery conviction. He told Anderson:

“You have an appalling record for somebody of your age. The robbery was a nasty robbery and it was on a man who was just walking through town.

“You pursued him and you fleeced him, threatening that you had a weapon.”

Jailing Anderson for three years and nine months, the judge told him he had been given “chance after chance and some lenient sentences (in the past) and they haven’t worked”.

Home to school transport could be under threat if coach companies are not given support to survive the summer.

That is the warning from a Nidderdale operator which took part in a peaceful protest with almost 100 coaches this week.

John Murgatroyd, of long-standing firm Murgatroyd Coach Hire, based near Thruscross reservoir, said the industry has been devastated over the last four months – and there is still no sign of it recovering.

“From mid-March, everything was cancelled throughout our diary to the end of the year. It has been zero income from then until now.”

The family firm usually makes its money from UK and continental holidays and, under current government legislation, could operate on a reduced level with social distancing in place. However, even with demand from their usual passengers, coach companies are struggling to put together holidays. Mr Murgatroyd said:

“Hotels say it’s hardly worth opening with reduced numbers. If we cross the hotels hurdles, there’s nothing open anyway so there’s nothing for people to go to.”

Read more:

• How one Nidderdale school has reopened for all its pupils
• Harrogate travel agents refuse to take holiday bookings
• Why the travel industry has had unfair press in the pandemic

The protest this week saw dozens of operators convene at Lightwater Valley, with some travelling in convoy from the North-East. It was part of a Europe-wide ‘Honk for Hope’ movement aiming to draw attention to the struggles of the coach industry.

Organiser Jenna Rush, of North East Coach Travel, said the theme park outside Ripon was chosen as the meeting point for the 95 coaches because it relies heavily on school visits from across the region, most of which are organised through coach companies. She said:

“I don’t think the coach industry is recognised enough. We bring £7bn a year in for the UK economy, and we support schools and help millions of children with home to school transport.

“Even the airlines, when they cancel or divert a flight, we’re the ones moving passengers around. I don’t think people realise how much we do for the country.”

She said the coach industry needs to make enough money through its busy summer months to survive the quieter winter period. The coronavirus crisis has meant it’s facing an “18-month winter” and many operators may not survive.

Her views were echoed by Mr Murgatroyd, who said when the volcanic ash crisis grounded thousands of flights in 2010, Murgatroyd’s had most of its fleet out in Europe repatriating people who had become stranded. He accused the government of having short memories, being quick to use operators in a crisis but offering no support when the coach industry needs it.

Murgatroyd Coach Travel was founded in 1935 by John Murgatroyd’s grandfather

Mr Murgatroyd added that, if coach operators are unable to get through the summer, school transport may be badly hit in the autumn. The family firm transports children from outlying villages to Nidderdale High School and Harrogate Grammar School, as well as one rural primary.

Along with others in the industry, it has furloughed its staff – but with the government pushing businesses to take on more responsibility for the furlough money from next month, he fears some coach companies will have be forced to make cuts.

“We’re trying to hang on as long as we can. Everybody I speak to – lots of the operators – the majority are small, like us, second or third generation family firms.

“This [protest] stemmed from Germany, where the government is supporting their industry with something like 160m Euros. We want something along those lines. It would allow us to keep going. Anything is better than nothing.”

A spokesman for Lightwater Valley said:

“The coach industry is a vital element to the ongoing success of the park and the loss of groups’ business so far this year, as a result of the lockdown, is a major cause for concern. We would urge the government to look at ways to help support coach companies over the coming weeks and months as, without some sort of financial help, many of them are facing closure.”

Police are appealing for witnesses after a car collided with a telecommunications box in Harrogate, causing significant damage.

A Mini Cooper Estate S collided with the green box near the junction with Tewit Well Avenue at 1.20am on Friday, June 26. The driver left the scene without reporting the incident.

A 19-year-old man has since been arrested and released under investigation while enquiries continue. A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said:

“We are requesting the public’s assistance to help establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident and also help to identify the driver of the vehicle at the time of the collision.”

Anyone with information should contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2, and ask for PC 587, or email matthew.bulmer@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk.

To report information anonymously, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Quote the North Yorkshire Police reference number 12200107118.

There have been no new reported deaths related to coronavirus at Harrogate District Hospital for the tenth day running.

The hospital’s total number of deaths remains at 80, as NHS England reports 37 new deaths across the country today.

Of those, five were in the North East and Yorkshire. Patients were aged between 48 and 94, and all but one, aged 80, had known underlying health conditions.

Read more:

• Woman dies falling from moving campervan near Ripley
• What have our MPs been doing in June?

Meanwhile, the number of deaths in care homes across the Harrogate district has risen to 94.

The latest figure, released today, covers all deaths in care homes until June 19. It is up by 4 from the figures released last week, which showed 90 deaths had occurred up to June 12.

As well as care homes, the data also revealed that no Harrogate people with coronavirus died in their homes, at a hospice, or in other communal establishments during that week. The total number of deaths in those locations across the Harrogate district remains at seven.

Education leaders in North Yorkshire have vowed no child will be left behind as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

A national package of £1bn of support has been promised by the education secretary, Gavin Williamson, of which £650m will go to state primary and secondary schools, and the rest to help disadvantaged children to access high quality tuition.

Supported by North Yorkshire County Council, headteachers across the Harrogate district are now looking at the best ways to help students catch up on missed learning over the last three months. Stuart Carlton, corporate director of children and young people’s services at NYCC, said:

“School leaders and staff will be looking at how best to use the government’s funding for catch-up education.

“There will be a no one-size-fits-all approach to this; schools will be making their decisions based on the needs of their pupils, the availability of teaching staff and other considerations. It may be they run intervention programmes, bring in extra teaching capacity or “bolt-on” lessons at the end of the traditional school day.

“But the county council and North Yorkshire’s schools are all completely committed to making sure no child’s education loses out as a result of the pandemic and will be working very hard to make sure we get every pupil to where they need to be in their academic progress.”

Mr Carlton thanked pupils, parents and teachers for their hard work in challenging circumstances this year.

At present, Years 10 and 12 are being prioritised in secondary schools, with a quarter of these year groups in school at a time. The education secretary has announced he expects all pupils in both primary and secondary schools to return to full-time lessons in September, with more guidance to be published in the coming weeks.

Mr Carlton said NYCC and schools are keen to have that guidance soon in order to allow them to plan for a safe return. Independent holiday clubs and activities should also be resuming this summer, allowing children to be cared for while parents work.

Read more:

• Parents and teachers raise concerns over delay in schools reopening
• Henshaws College to stay open as charity cuts other services

Meanwhile, an independent school near Harrogate has reopened to all pupils this morning, following changes in government guidance.

Belmont Grosvenor, a prep school based on the edge of Birstwith, has welcomed pupils from reception up to Year 6 thanks to small class sizes and extensive grounds.

Sophia Ashworth Jones, headmistress of Belmont Grosvenor, with school dog Zola

The school had previously opened its Magic Tree Nursery, as well as Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 classes from June 1, in line with government advice. When that changed to allow schools to make their own decisions about which pupils could safely return, it welcomed back Year 5 from June 15, before opening to the rest of its year groups today.

Headmistress Sophia Ashworth Jones said:

“We are fortunate to be set in 20 acres of beautiful grounds, our average class size is 15 pupils, and we have plenty of both indoor and outdoor space to manage the social-distancing guidelines well.

“Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, our children, from nursery to Year 6, enjoyed outdoor learning daily, from taking part in Forest School lessons in our woodland, to performing in the school’s outside amphitheatre. Now our children are back in school, the outside space has taken on an even greater importance.”

While many parents have chosen to send their children back, the school is also continuing to offer remote learning for those who are staying at home. As well as daily lessons, the school has been offering online assemblies, show-and-tell meetings, book clubs and well-being sessions for pupils since lockdown began in March.

• How has home schooling been for you? Has your children’s school been supportive or do you feel teachers could have done more? Are you ready for lessons to resume? Tell us about your experience by getting in touch.

Burglars made off in a BMW with a first aid kit, a box of face masks and two sets of handmade doctor’s scrubs from a home in south Harrogate.

The Westbourne Avenue home was targeted between midnight and 6.45am on Saturday, June 20, when thieves broke in and took the keys for the grey BMW 220 D, which was on the driveway.

The car was recovered later that day after crashing and being abandoned on the way to Wetherby. However, items from inside the car were stolen.

As well as the face masks, scrubs and first aid kit, they included a child’s car seat, Ray-Ban sunglasses and a make-up bag. A personalised thermometer was also stolen from a doctor’s bag, but the bag was left outside the house.

Read more:

• ‘Outrageous’ series of bike thefts investigated at Harrogate Hospital
• Three arrested after cars stolen in Harrogate

North Yorkshire Police is appealing for witnesses and information from the public aboutt he “two-in-one” burglary. A spokesman said:

“In particular, [we] are appealing for information about any suspicious people or vehicles seen in the area, and any CCTV or dash-cam or doorbell footage taken in the area at the time of the offence.

“[We] would also like to hear from anyone who has seen or been offered any of the stolen items for sale under suspicious circumstances.