WHEN thieves broke into a Stanway barbers and made off with three charity boxes, the owners were gobsmacked.

But instead of shrugging and moving on, Martin and Stacey Wheeler, of Uppercuts, in London Road, raised £2,500 for the charities who missed out.

A month after the raid last August, the couple gathered sponsorship totalling £1,610 by taking part in St Helena Hospice’s 54-mile bike ride around Constable Country.

They then organised a Christmas raffle where the £840 collected was split evenly between the two other charity victims - Help for Heroes and the East Anglian Air Ambulance.

Mr Wheeler said: “We were absolutely in shock when it happened - we were just gobsmacked.

“I don’t suppose there was lots of money in the boxes but we thought we should do something to replace it.

“People have been so generous - it’s been really pleasing for us.”