Portsmouth charity helped by generous mechanic after car is vandalised

Pompey In The Community, the charity arm of Portsmouth FC, saw its beloved blue Mini trashed when the front grill was ripped off the car.

The car, which has the club badge emblazoned on the bonnet, is used to get around the city to help those in need.

Clare Martin, the charity’s CEO, says it was ‘disappointing’ to see what had happened.

She said: ‘It was so frustrating – everything happened overnight so we were none the wiser until the following day.

‘You could see here someone had wiggled it free because there was quite a bit of damage around that area.

‘It was such a shame and I don’t understand why someone would do that.’

The damage would have set the charity back to get it repaired – but kind mechanic Adrian Wilcox from AW Motors stepped in to do the work for free.

Clare believes that the act of kindness says a lot about Portsmouth’s spirit and generosity.

She said: ‘Adrian came down and got it all repaired in a couple of days – it was amazing.

‘He then told us it was free of charge, and I honestly couldn’t believe it.

‘There are some truly wonderful people here in Portsmouth, and this year more than ever I think that’s really come to the surface.

‘It's a tough time for everyone at the moment, but positive things like this are really uplifting.’

The charity is continuing its work despite the restrictions put in place by the coronavirus lockdown.

Once a week, children are getting virtual cooking lessons via Zoom, with the charity delivering the ingredients to everyone’s doorsteps.

Clare says charities have had a ‘vital’ part to play this year and although physical events have been cancelled throughout the year, there is still plenty that people can do to look out for one another.

The incident with the Mini has not been reported to the police, Clare explained.

She said: ‘We don’t have CCTV of what happened and I just feel like they have more important things to deal with.’

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