Residents rally behind charity shop after nasty ‘hope you haven’t failed’ letter.

Bocking Lane residents said the author of a nasty ‘I hope you fail’ letter signed from a Residents Unite group on the road should be ‘ashamed’ of themselves.

The angry handwritten letter, which arrived through the Kreate PO Box in Sheffield last week, said the sender did not “encourage charity shops” and hoped the “shutters will soon close” for good.

He continued: “Lots of businesses needed by communities have failed and I hope yours have too. Another fashionable tak painted in gray. Soon it will be the countdown for you. The shutters will be permanently closed.”

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The letter had been signed by “Residents Unite (Bocking Lane)”. While online searches yielded little evidence of the group’s existence, Yorkshire Live headed to Bocking Lane to see if we could find the elusive group.

Bocking Lane is just three minutes’ drive from where the Kreate store is located on Hutcliffe Wood Road. The charity behind the store provides life skills and vocational training for people with learning disabilities aged 16 and over.

Residents certainly didn’t seem “united” in their views on Kreate – nor did they express hope that it would fail. Many said that while they had heard of a Neighborhood Watch or Residents Unite-style group operating in the area, from which they receive monthly newsletters, they disagreed with the content of the letter. They said whoever wrote it should be “ashamed” of themselves and clearly “has too much time on their hands”.

One woman said: “I’m not sure who drives it. Occasionally I get a letter from them through the letterbox, but it’s disgusting to hear what they’ve done.” Another man, who lives on Bocking Lane, said: “Living here I certainly don’t agree with what they’ve done. I don’t know who runs the group, although I get occasional newsletters from them.”

One woman said: “It’s awful to hear and it’s even worse that people here are now going to be associated with this,” while her neighbor added: “We’ve been getting letters from time to time since then but it’s awful to hear what they they did, they should be ashamed of themselves.”

Another resident said: “I haven’t heard anything about it at all but it’s awful,” while their partner added: “I don’t know what would motivate anyone to do something like this – they seem to have too much time on their hands. their hands.” One woman added: “We get newsletters from time to time, but we haven’t heard anything about anyone actually running them.”

Another man who lives in the road said: “I get letters from the neighborhood watch group. I probably arrive about once a month, but to be honest with you, I usually go straight to the bin.” The Kreate owner has since said the overwhelming level of support and publicity the letter has received has helped turn the letter from a “negative to a positive” for the charity.

The letter has caused a “shock” reaction online and has been met with an outpouring of support from people as far away as America, as well as those living in Sheffield, who claim the note has “been reversed” as he is due to visit and to actively support the store.

The identity of the sinister ‘Residents Unite, Bocking Lane’ group remains unknown.

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