Thieves steal charity boxes (From The Argus)

Thieves steal charity boxes

3:00pm Sunday 3rd March 2013 in News By Anna Roberts, Crime reporter

Thieves are targeting charity boxes. At least eight collections have been taken from shops in Lewes over the past few weeks – including three from the same street.

In total, hundreds of pounds have been taken by the thieves who see the boxes as an “easy target”.

Sergeant Rose Hanson, from Sussex Police, said: “Charity boxes are an easy target, but it seems that most of these did have some form of retaining strap or chain.

“Charities have to work very hard in these straitened times to make their money and the despicable activities of one or more thieves in Lewes have robbed them of several hundred pounds that would have gone towards their very important work.

“We would suggest that measures are put in place to secure them as much as is reasonable and maybe not have them right at the front of counters.

“If you have been a victim of such crime, please report it, especially if you have a description of a suspect, as this information may well help us to catch the offenders.”

A spokesman for Sussex Air Ambulance, which receives no statutory funding and relies almost entirely on donations from the public, said: “Collection boxes are a valuable source of income, raising more than £130,000 a year for the air ambu- lance.”

On Sunday between 1pm and 3pm thieves stole a charity box from a shop in Cliffe High Street.

A Sussex Air Ambulance box, about half full of money, was stolen from a food shop in Cliffe High Street on January 9 and the following day a Lewes Victoria Hospital collection box with around £30 in it was taken from another shop nearby.

Since that time there have been at least four other thefts and police are asking victims to report any thefts and to make their charity boxes as secure as possible.

On Saturday a white man, aged around 20, 6ft, with blonde hair and wearing a fur- lined cream zip jacket, jeans and brown shoes had been seen acting suspiciously in the shop moments before. Anyone with information should contact Sussex Police on 101.

 

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