Vandals smashed nine windows at a health centre for amputee patients, leaving staff and patients “devastated”.

Romford Recorder: Nine windows were smashed at Harold Wood long term condition centreNine windows were smashed at Harold Wood long term condition centre (Image: Staff at Harold Wood long term condition centre (Lund Matt [Matt.Lund@nelft.nhs.uk])

Staff arrived at the Long Term Conditions Centre (LTCC), Gubbins Lane, Harold Wood, on Friday morning to find glass all over the floor.

The centre, run by the North East London NHS Foundation Trust (Nelft), treats a wide range of patients including war veterans, older people with vascular disease and children and is specialised in prosthetics, orthotics, podiatry, diabetes and community rehabilitation.

Police were called and members of staff worked hard to clean up the mess as soon as possible.

One woman, whose amputee husband has been treated at the centre for years, told the Recorder: “Staff at the centre have done such a great job and they have been looking after my husband for years. They were running around cleaning up the glass.”

A neighbour, who was woken up by the noise of the attack, said incidents were happening on a regular basis.

LTCC services manager Margaret Staples said: “We were all devastated to see the damage when we arrived this morning.

“We cordoned off the damaged areas temporarily while the clearing up and cleaning was undertaken.

“Nine windows had been smashed and both staff and service users were upset by the vandalism, but our staff were determined to fix the issues and soon had the centre up and running as normal.”

The centre remained open despite the incident and the areas affected were cordoned off while the cleaning was going on.

Temporary repairs have taken place and the building is now secure.