AN RNLI charity box, thought to contain around £70, was stolen when the Castle Beach Cafe in Falmouth was burgled sometime over night last Wednesday/Thursday.

Fortunately for owners Steve and Jayne Gray, the only damage the thief, or thieves, did was wrecking the lock upon entering the beach-front cafe. "They came along with bolt croppers and cut the lock off," said Steve. "We were a bit worried going in afterwards about what we would find, but they were obviously only looking for cash and we don't keep any here overnight.

"They had searched all the hot chocolate jars and everywhere they thought we might have kept money but they only left with the RNLI collection box. They could have taken some ices or turned the freezers off just to be a pain, but thankfully they didn't."

The theft of the charity box, which had been emptied two weeks ago, was met with disgust on Facebook. Amanda Brown said: "Sadly, these people don't have any conscience or morals. They don't care who they are stealing from. Our volunteer lifeboat men and women and our lifeguards will still go and rescue anyone who is in trouble at sea and around our coastline. Thankfully, we don't pick and choose who we help and who we don't help."

The Grays have now improved security at the cafe, fitting a more robust lock which they hope will deter future intruders.