THE moment a callous thief broke into a garden centre and stole two charity collection tins has been captured on CCTV.
Ironically, he could be caught out because of a previous theft of charity money from the same site three months earlier.
CCTV video of the latest incident at Avery’s Garden Centre, in Bishop’s Hull, shows a man sliding eight feet down a stack of compost after using a step ladder to climb onto the roof and cutting a hole in a panel with a knife.
He then crouches in an unsuccessful attempt to avoid the cameras and makes his way straight to the counter, where he grabs the two tins and leaves the same way he arrived barely a minute earlier.
An estimated £20 collected for Cancer Research UK was stolen in the incident on Wednesday last week (March 23).
Centre owner Alan Avery, who lives on site, said he believes the thief was casing the nursery earlier in the evening.
Alan Avery.
“When I left to go to a pub quiz at around 8.30pm, I noticed a bloke standing on the other side of the road watching us," said Mr Avery.
“Looking at the CCTV pictures later it looks like the same person.
“When I got back at 11.15pm, I did a tour of the premises with the dog and noticed a step ladder I thought the staff must have left out.
“Then I saw a hole that had been cut in the fabric roof, but couldn’t see any damage when I went inside.
“But when I checked the CCTV afterwards, I saw he’d homed in straightaway on the charity boxes we keep under the till without looking at anything else.
“He grabbed one in each hand, rushed out and went straight back up the compost and out through the roof.”
The CCTV images showed that the thief also picked up an iron bar at one stage, presumably to warn off anyone who spotted him.
Mr Avery said he installed CCTV following the daytime theft of a charity box shortly before Christmas.
He added: “I have no idea who stole them then, so decided to install CCTV – hopefully this time it will help catch the person.”
Police have confirmed they are carrying out “ongoing inquiries” into the theft.
A spokesman said the culprit was a white man in his early 20s and was wearing a distinctive hooded top with bold patterns on the front, a beanie hat and glasses.
Anyone with any information or who recognises the man from the image should call Taunton Police on 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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