A SNEAK thief has been condemned after stealing a Poppy Appeal collection tin from a doctors’ surgery in Denton.
Staff at the Millgate Medical Partnership, Ann Street, have been left stunned and angry by the crime on Thursday, November 14.
“It is very sad and such a low-down thing to do,” said a member of the reception team who noticed the Royal British Legion collection box had disappeared.
“How low can you stoop? We had pensioners putting in fivers and youngsters putting in pocket money to buy poppies because we had ones without pins in. It is just despicable.
“And it wasn’t easy to take because it was securely tied to the counter.
“Someone would have needed a pair of scissors or a knife because the tin was tied to a post with thick string.
“There are people coming and going all the time. I can only think someone must have clocked it and then come back later.”
Staff are unsure how much the criminal go away with but it is thought the tin was about three-quarters full.
“It had been with us about two weeks and I had emptied my money jar into it.
“I had been to one of the offices, came back to my desk and noticed it had gone.
“At first, I thought perhaps the lady who brought in the tin and poppies had removed it. But sadly not.”