Thief stole from Hartlepool charity shop after hiding behind sofa until the store closed

Shocked staff from the Extra Mile Shop (part of the Miles for Men charity) went into work this morning only to find hundreds of pounds of cash had been swiped.

An iPhone was missing, and a charity tub was ripped from the desk it was nailed to. The tub’s £200 contents were gone.

So was £20 of the shop’s proceeds and £40 entry money which people had paid to enter the Three Peaks Challenge which the charity was running.

The thief also took a communication radio and when staff checked throughout the shop, they were amazed to find a £1,000 gold coloured mobility scooter was also missing.

Then they checked the store’s own CCTV system. It showed the thief, a tall male, had come into the shop in the Middleton Grange Shopping Centre with a woman at about 3.30pm.

The woman left but the man hid behind furniture until the store closed at 4.30pm. At 4.55pm, he came out of hiding and began going through the store’s till and other items.

The store was unable to open today because of the crime and shop manager Kelly Pearson said: “It is gutting. It makes you feel sick. We are trying so hard to work for the people of the town and someone does this.

"When the girls locked up and left, he has come out from behind the furniture and taken the charity tub and ripped it from the cash desk. It was screwed down to the desk.

"He has rummaged about upstairs, been in the office and all of downstairs. We think he has taken a large mobility scooter.

"If anyone wants anything from us, we try our best to help them. Whoever has done this has taken from the people of Hartlepool.”

Kelly added: “We are a self-funded charity and everyone who works here is a volunteer.

"We have people who come in and leave us money for the charity because of the work we do, and they will say ‘well done girls’.

"Then someone does this. It is gutting.”

Kelly said the mobility scooter was loaned by the charity to people who needed it the most. They would return it when they had finished, so that it could be passed on to another customer. Now it is missing

A spokesman for Cleveland Police said: “Police received a call from staff at the Extra Mile store in Hartlepool’s Middleton Grange Shopping Centre earlier today (Tuesday 1st September). The caller was reporting theft of a charity box, other cash and items from within the store and it is believed to have taken place after staff left for the evening on Saturday (around 5pm on 29th August.)

“Details for theft and damage have been taken and Scenes of Crime Officers have been asked to attend. No arrests have been made and other inquiries, including accessing local CCTV systems, have begun.

“We’d appeal for anyone with information or footage which could help to contact Cleveland Police via the 101 number. Please quote Event 142556.”

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