A THIEF who stole a charity collection box from a shop was caught in the act on CCTV.

As reported last week, the tin taken from The Barber Shop, in Deansgate, Radcliffe, contained between £30 and £40 for Bolton Mountain Rescue Team.

Shop owner, Gary Melia, who volunteers with the mountain rescue team, did not know exactly when the collection box was stolen, so he spent time examining CCTV footage covering several days and finally caught the thief in the act.

Mr Melia, aged 41, said: “I noticed it missing when I went to put some money in it. The fact that someone has stolen from charity is awful.

“People think because there are no mountains around here, the team isn’t needed, but there are always people falling over on Rivington or coming off mountain bikes. They help to recover bodies too. They do a good job and they need support.”

The man walked into the shop at about 4.15pm on Wednesday, August 21, and sat down to read a newspaper.

He took the charity tin when staff were not looking and walked out with it in his jacket.

The theft has been reported to the police and they are appealing for help to identify the man.

A collection box had been in the shop since 2010 and there had been no previous incidents.

The theft follows a collection box containing about £200 being stolen from Vaughn’s Country Cafe, in Tockholes, near Darwen.

Bolton Mountain Rescue team leader Garry Rhodes said: “We rely heavily on public donations to meet our annual running costs of around £30,000, so these thefts are disappointing news.”

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.