A CALCULATED thief who stole charity collection boxes has been jailed.

Derrick Matthews was caught on CCTV stealing tins in Eastbourne.

Police were told about a man acting suspiciously in the town in August, and were able to identify him as the main suspect.

They believe he pilfered funds from boxes across Sussex, and charged him with eight thefts between November last year and May this year.

It included taking boxes and tins from Eastbourne, Rye, Hailsham, Burgess Hill and Robertsbridge, police said.

The homeless 59-year-old admitted the charges at Brighton Magistrates’ Court, where he was jailed for four weeks for each charge, making a total of eight months in prison.

Investigating officer Anna Archer said: “Any theft is unacceptable but stealing money from a charity is particularly abhorrent.

“Matthews conducted his thefts in a calculated manor and in turn, caused a lot of distress from his behaviour.

“I would like to extend my thanks to the member of the public who called us to report his suspicious behaviour and sub sequentially allowing us to identify Matthews.

“We also had many calls from other members of the public identifying Matthews in the CCTV video we published on our website, which aided our investigation.

“The sentence Matthews received shows the severity of the case and should send a warning to everyone that we do not rule out investigating certain crime types and we will get the best outcomes where the greatest harm has been caused.”