Police have received a second report linked to a museum at the centre of an inquiry by the charity regulator.
Cheshire Police said it had been contacted in relation to Congleton Museum. A report about criminal damage was made to the force last week.
One of the trustees said she had received a call from the museum’s alarm company about a break-in, after an incident with a door lock was reported to the force last week.
The museum is also being investigated by the Charity Commission over concerns about its governance surrounding a dispute between trustees.
Anne Gubbins, the co-chair of the trustees, told BBC Radio Stoke she had received a call from the alarm company on Monday morning.
“There’d been a break-in and the lock has been removed from the door this time,” she said.
Cheshire Police said: “We have been contacted again today in relation to the museum and we are looking into it.”
Ms Gubbins said the museum had hosted its Christmas Grotto this weekend, with more than 150 children visiting, which she said was “absolutely lovely”.
She said the children “didn’t realise” the ongoing issues.
“I think some of the parents were aware, but we didn’t talk about it”.
A report, commissioned by the board of trustees, said recent events around the dispute “should be considered a serious incident” and were reported to the Charity Commission.
The regulator said: “We have opened a compliance case into Congleton Museum Trust to assess concerns raised about the charity’s governance.”
Arts Council England also confirmed it had added the museum to its risk register.
The museum opened in 2002 [BBC]
Calls have been made for founding trustee Ian Doughty to resign over claims he changed the locks to the building and tried to suspend the other seven trustees.
Mr Doughty has been approached for an interview or a comment, but previously said there had been a “misinformation campaign” waged against him.
He also described the report commissioned by the board as “fake” and said the museum was not at risk.
“This project has enjoyed decades of success thanks to the work of our volunteers and we should all hope for this to continue,” he said.
Ms Gubbins said the trustees would meet shortly to “decide where we go from here”.
“The town hall, which are our landlords, are going to look after the keys so all of us can only get access when we ask for it, which is a very sensible arrangement for the time being, I think, and we’ll see where we go,” she said.
The museum is now set to remain closed until 6 January.
Read more Cheshire stories from the BBC and follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
More on this storyRelated internet links