Plea for donations after Leicestershire food bank theft

Local people regularly donate food to the Mission Foodbank

Thieves have taken a "huge quantity" of items from a food bank donation box outside a village pub.

Mission Foodbank said the theft took place at The Dog and Gun in Enderby, Leicestershire, at the weekend.

The charity has now appealed to residents to help it replace the stolen food, which was intended to be distributed among struggling families.

CCTV footage is also being reviewed to try to identify the person or persons responsible.

The charity said the donation box had been targeted by thieves at least three times now

Blaby South councillor Paul Hartshorn, who helps with the church-run food bank, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the donation box had been full before the theft.

"When we went to collect it, it was empty," he said.

The group, which said the donation box had been targeted twice before, is now increasing the frequency of its collections to minimise the risk of future thefts.

Mr Hartshorn said: "This is a polite request to those stealing food to please stop, as you are taking huge quantities of food that we desperately need to help local families in crisis.

"This is a chance for you to return what you have taken or to contact us to receive food support.

"To those who do donate, please continue to do so, we are emptying drop-off points every day now."