Man 'distracted staff' before taking cash from till in Shrewsbury charity shop
Staff at The Shrewsbury Ark Charity Shop on Castle Street, have shared their shock after discovering all bank notes had been taken from the till on January 23.
A man allegedly entered the shop at around 3.15pm and asked a member of staff if they could check in the back for a pair of trousers that his partner has supposedly requested be kept aside for him.
When the item could not be found, the man left and staff moved on to the next customer shortly after.
However, when the next customer tried to make a purchase, the member of staff realised that all of the bank notes in the till had been taken.
Fundraising and Community Lead Kim Tunbridge said the team were in "shock" that someone would local charity. She continued: "We call all of our customers ‘Friends of The Ark’ and it was so sad to think that someone could steal from a local charity supporting vulnerable people in our community.
"Members of the public have kindly offered to replace the money that was taken, which is incredibly nice of them."
The theft was reported to the police. It was classed as burglary as the man had gone behind the counter.
A full description has been given to the police and local rangers have been warned that this incident could be repeated in charity shops locally.
Chair of The Shrewsbury Ark, Emily Bell added: “The money taken has been taken from the most vulnerable people in our community – to target a shop supporting homeless people living in Shropshire is incredibly cruel.
"Every penny we earn is valuable to us and this burglary has really disheartened us."
West Mercia Police have been contacted for a comment.
