'Lowlife' thief steals Poppy collection box from Wolverhampton Greggs
An opportunist thief has been described as a lowlife by staff at a popular bakery in Wolverhampton after stealing its charity collection box.
It was taken from the Greggs store based on Cannock Road in The Scotlands area of the city.
The box had been collecting money for the Royal British Legion as part of its Poppy Appeal ahead of Remembrance Sunday, this year on November 12.
A staff member at the store confirmed that the theft took place on Wednesday at 11.10am. The worker, who didn’t want to be named, said: “He came in and pretended to browse and have a look at what was in the counter.
“Then the next second he grabbed the box and ran off. Thankfully, there wasn’t a lot in there. But the principle of it, it’s awful to think that someone would do this.”
Police were alerted to the theft and staff have viewed CCTV from the premises to try and find the culprit. Trevor Arblaster, press officer of the Royal British Legion, Great Wyrley branch said: “It’s absolutely disgraceful.
“Anyone that steals charity collection boxes has got to question their morals.
“It’s an awful state of affairs when we cannot collect for good causes such as the poppy appeal without people coming along and taking the cash for themselves.
“The person that did this should be ashamed of themselves.”
Posting about the theft on Facebook, Greggs worker Sarah Gripton said: “A thank you to the lowlife that blatantly walked in and stole our poppy collection box. CCTV clearly shows your face!”
Ms Gipton later added: “I am so angry about what happened, I have the upmost respect for what the Royal British Legion do and it sickens me that somebody would do such a thing.”
Anyone with information is asked to call the police on 101, quoting reference number 20WV/234640B/17.
