DIY SOS star Nick Knowles has hit out after a disabled children's charity he supports was forced to close a vital facility after a targeted fire attack.
The Yard's play and support facility for disabled children on Drumlanrig Place, Dundee, went up on Thursday night and police believe the fire was started deliberately. Vandals have caused about £10,000 of damage, wrecking a sensory space for kids with specific needs who need a quiet area when they are overstimulated.
It is the second attack to plague The Yard recently, after another of its centres was targeted by sick thugs at the end of 2021. Vandals torched a boardwalk installed at their Edinburgh centre during the DIY SOS Children In Need special with presenter Knowles.
Speaking to the Record, Knowles urged Scots to help cover the cost of the damage and re-opening. Calling the attack "heart-wrenching", he said: "Parents of children with additional needs rely on the service and respite that The Yard offers. It's not just the children that suffer when they have to close and that is heartbreaking.
"I really want to see the community come out and support The Yard because what they do is astounding and life-affirming. If people can find a few quid and can pay it towards The Yard I'm absolutely sure, having experienced the generosity and the sense of community across Scotland, that people will come together to help."
Knowles began supporting the charity in 2012 after it's work struck such a chord with him, and he has since made return visits in his spare time.
He said of the service, and boss Celine Sinclair: "In 39 years of television Celine is the most extraordinary woman I've ever met. And in 23 years of doing this [DIY SOS], certain jobs stay with you and The Yard was something special.
"The greatest shame of this is that the damage that has been done is likely mindless, done by bored youths as an act of bravado and showing off. One of the difficulties we have across all of the United Kingdom is a lack of youth centres and places for young people to go.
"When we [DIY SOS] built at Grenfell that was really apparent – the community was really keen for us to rebuild the boxing club because all the kids in the area went there to learn self-respect and respect for others. Just saying 'it's terrible' isn't enough, let's see if we can reduce this happening so places like The Yard being needlessly damaged."
The "Gingerbread House" sensory space had been donated to The Yard by the National Lottery and decorated by a host of lottery winners. Pictures shared with the Record show the shed, and the equipment inside, blackened by smoke and soot; some of the plastic toys hauled outside after the bonfire had melted.
Charity boss Celine said the situation was a "sad, sad state of affairs", adding that the vandalism would be hard to explain to the children. Some of those with additional needs, she said, would find the damage hard to comprehend and may not understand that they cannot access their favourite place.
She said: "There's so much damage, we can't have families in for now and there's so much equipment that has been destroyed. At a time when it's tough to be running our services, when costs are so high, with people using us as a warm space, I can't understand why people would take that away."
Mum Nadia Christison, who takes her autistic sons Saul, 15, and Guy, six, to the centre, said: “We all love going to The Yard, it’s a real lifeline for us as a family, and the Gingerbread House is central to that as are the bikes and trikes which we hear have also been damaged, some destroyed. We are absolutely appalled and sickened to hear of this deliberate fire and hope the good people of Dundee can rally round and help fund the repairs and replacements we all cherish so much.”
However, staff at the centre have been "heartened" by the community's response to the mindless attack. A fundraiser launched in the aftermath of the fire has already raised over £1,200, with an overall target of £10,000 to cover costs; staff hoped to re-open some facilities on Monday.
Celine said: "This is not a place for people to target – we support some of the most vulnerable children in Scotland. This is a place that needs to be protected. It has been so heartening, and we feel very fortunate that so many people know and understand that we can't do this without their support."
A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: "We received a call to attend a fire on Mauchline Place East at 9.26pm on Thursday January 19. Crews were mobilised and a shed was found to be on fire. The fire service put out the fire and were stood down."
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Police were informed of a fire in Drumlanrig Place, Dundee around 9.50pm on Thursday, 19 January, 2023. The fire is being treated as suspicious and enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances.”
The Yard's fundraiser can be viewed here.
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