HEARTLESS thieves are targetting charity shops which raise thousands of pounds to help sick and disabled children.

Hard-working volunteers with Colchester Children’s Charity say they are sick of crooks targeting their two stores in Old Heath Road, Colchester.

Roy Kemp, who is a trustee of the organisation, hopes sharing footage of shoplifters caught red-handed will help to stem the flow of thefts.

CCTV cameras have been installed around the two stores and they caught one woman stealing a jacket from a mannequin.

Mr Kemp, who wants to see the jacket returned, said theft has a big impact on business.

“This was a really nice jacket and just the latest case of shoplifting at our shops,” he said.

“It is a Sgt Pepper-style jacket which we would be looking to sell for about £25, £45 with the mannequin.”

Mr Kemp added: “This may not seem like a lot of money to many people but it is an awful lot to us.

“I think it is absolutely disgusting behaviour.”

The footage catches the woman as she checks to see whether staff are watching. She then she removes the jacket from the mannequin and shoves it into her bag.

“We were pricing items and walking up and down the shop and she did it right there, brazen as you like,” said Mr Kemp.

“She was a regular customer but we haven’t seen her since.”

On Monday morning, security cameras also recorded a man snatching a mountain bike from outside the store.

The bike had been left as a donation to the charity.

Staff decided not to share the footage of this incident after a shopper recognised the thief and had the bike returned.

“We actually sold the bike as soon as we got it back,” said Mr Kemp. “We essentially said to them we will either go to the Gazette with the footage, or we will get the bike back.”

The charity raises thousands of pounds to help ill and disabled children who live in north Essex.

It previously had three shops in the town but had to close its Mersea Road shop in August last year due to a shortage of volunteers.

But staff have not let these difficulties stop them in their fundraising efforts.

In the past year the small group has raised £72,000 thanks to items sold in their shops.

At a charity fun day on Sunday, volunteers were delighted to raise a further £1,000.

Mr Kemp said: “We have had a successful year but we do also get quite a few cases of shoplifting.

“On one occasion someone stole every DVD we had in the shop. Hopefully sharing this footage will show we have high-quality CCTV.

“We have not been to the police yet as we are waiting to see if we can get the jacket returned.”