A DISABLED man who had his money snatched by a thief inside a supermarket has been refunded by a generous Argus reader.

Mark Rusling, 59, of York Road, Hove, was withdrawing £40 from an ATM inside the The Co-op in Western Road, Hove, last month when he was distracted by a woman who then snatched his cash from the machine after he left it in there.

Despite being told the suspected thief was barred from the store by staff, he could not recover the money from the store or the ATM company.

But now an anonymous kind-hearted reader of The Argus has given Mr Rusling the cash.

The donor, a 49-year-old painter and decorator from Brighton, said: “There was something in this story that touched me about the hard time he faced.

“I have a disabled relative and I know the value of £40 to someone who has nothing.

“Yes, he could have been more vigilant but sometimes thieves are a bit more on the look out than the person on the receiving end.”

Mr Rusling said the reader’s generosity had delighted him – and allowed him to buy a new pair of shoes.

He said: “It really has cheered me up a lot. I’ve had uncomfortable feet for a while and I wanted to get a pair of shoes.

“Now I can afford to get them and it will make my life much more comfortable.”

Our story last week caused much debate online as readers commented on whether The Co-op should compensate Mr Rusling for the £40 that was taken from him.

Mr Rusling, who is on disability benefit and suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and osteoarthritis, explained the theft had left him struggling to make ends meet.

He said: “It cost me £45 in phone credit between phoning The Co-op, the ATM company and the bank.

“All without a result.

“I should have been more vigilant but cash machines should be safer and have sensors on them that alert people that cash has been collected from the machine.”

Sussex Police said officers had made enquiries and checked CCTV but no arrest was made.

The Argus editor Arron Hendy said: “It is heart-warming to see that one of our readers was moved by our story and had decided to help.

“Hopefully the cash will go some way to helping make life more comfortable for Mark, even if it just means he is able to buy new shoes.

“This is just one of the fine examples of how our fantastic readers can react to an issue they read about in The Argus.”