A man has been caught on video attempting to steal piles of donations from outside a charity shop – using a wheelie bin.
The footage shows a man rummaging through a collection of boxes and bin liners outside a closed Cancer Research UK branch in Leicestershire before he is challenged by passersby.
Angela Sherratt, who filmed the incident, said she approached the man to ask him what he was doing but he claimed he didn’t understand.
Ms Sherratt, 54, confronted the man, who she described as ‘well dressed’, with her husband outside the charity shop on Market Street, Ashby-de-la-Zouch in North West Leicestershire.
Angela Sheratt recorded the man on her phone as she confronted him about taking donations from outside a charity shop
She said she had become incensed after the pair saw the man walking around the shop donations just after 7pm on Sunday evening.
‘You just don’t expect to see that. It’s a cancer charity. Everybody knows somebody with cancer. It’s just vile,’ said Ms Sherratt.
‘He didn’t really look like he was bothered. He was still looking in the bags as he was putting them back.
‘He just said he didn’t speak any English and that he didn’t understand what we were saying.
Ms Sherratt said that she and her husband John Abell, 50, pointed out that it was a charity shop but said that the thief didn’t ‘give a damn.’
‘He wasn’t just taking things out of the bags. He was putting whole bin liners in the bin. There were three or four bags of stuff. That bin was chocker.’
Ms Sherratt, a company director, added that when she insisted the man put the bags back, he continued to look through them.
In the video, he appears to roughly tip out the remains of the wheelie bin before walking away with it down the road.
Ms Sherratt said another man wearing a high vis jacket had also stopped to question the man.
She said she did not believe the man was in need.
‘I was asking him, “do you need this stuff?” and shouting, “why do you need this?”
The man is seen rummaging through bin liners of goods that were left outside of Cancer Research UK in Ashby-de-la-Zouch
He is then seen filling a wheelie bin with the stash of toys, clothes and other donations
‘He didn’t need help. Not at all. He was well dressed and wearing quite trendy jeans.’
She added that she would not hesitate to do the same all over again if she spotted anybody who appeared to be stealing from a charity.
‘I wasn’t thinking about my own safety, but I’d probably do the same again.
‘The bags often get left outside the shop. On a Sunday we’ll walk past and see them and say they’ve got a lot of work to do on Monday.
‘But no one would think to steal from there. It’s a low life thing to do.’
Leicestershire Police said they are investigating the incident.
After being challenged by Ms Sherratt and other passersby, the man tips the collection of goods into a heap and walks off with the wheelie bin
‘If anyone witnessed the theft or knows the identity of the person responsible they are advised to contact 101, quoting crime reference number 17*457588,’ a spokesperson said.
Julie Byard, head of trading at Cancer Research UK, described the incident as ‘disappointing’.
She also encouraged people to make their donations during opening hours to ensure they are safely received.
She added: ‘The stock generously donated by our supporters is of enormous value to us because Cancer Research UK receives no government funding and relies entirely on donations to support our pioneering work into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
‘Donations to our shops are particularly welcome at this time of year as we approach Christmas.’