THE staff and customers of a popular Bradford pub have been left devastated following a burglary in which charity boxes were stolen.

CCTV footage shows a man wearing a cap scrambling around The Corn Dolly, on Bolton Road, BD1, in the early hours of Monday.

He entered the pub through a top window before proceeding to steal two collection jars, one for Marie Curie UK and the other for Diabetes UK, which contained a combined total of around £500.

In one clip the man - who was dressed in a tracksuit and appears to have very short hair, if any, under his cap - goes behind the bar to snatch the heavy bottle of coins.

Meanwhile, another shows him on all fours as he makes a terrible attempt to evade the cameras.

He appeared to only be interested in the charity money, not the till or the alcohol on display.

Manager Anthony Dunkin, who lives above the pub, was extremely annoyed when he woke up in the morning to discover his customers’ hard-earned money that they had donated was no longer there.

He said: “We didn’t really notice at first but then I went to go put a penny in one of the jars and they weren’t there.

“He got in through the top window. There is a little bit of damage on the rubber so I don’t know if it wasn’t shut and he has managed to get it open or not.

“We were in bed upstairs. We didn’t hear a thing. He was very sneaky.

“There was probably about £500 there between both of the pots.

“It does seem like someone must have told him about them because he walked straight in and went for the bottle.

“He didn’t touch anything else. He came in grabbed the bottle, went to the window then came back for the other bottle and off he went.

“I was only thinking the other day that I better start what we normally do with them. It’s a competition when you pay a £1 to enter and you have to guess how much is in it. Most people then give their winnings to the charity.”

The Corn Dolly posted on their Facebook page at noon on Tuesday: “Well then ladies and gentlemen, I’m hoping you can help!

“Can anyone identify this scumbag who broke into the pub and stole The Marie Curie UK & Diabetes UK charity tubs.

“Please can anyone with any information send us a message and give this post a share.”

At time of writing, 360 people have shared the post.

Many agreed with the sentiment of commenters Paul Donnelly and Dave Hammill. Paul said: “Hope you catch the scumbag,” while Dave added: “Utter scumbag, it makes your blood boil.”

West Yorkshire Police confirmed they are investigating the crime and encouraged anyone who may know anything about it to come forward.

Their statement read: “Police received a report of a burglary at a public house on Bolton Road, Bradford, in which two charity collection boxes were stolen.

“The incident took place at around 3:20am on Monday 30th August. Enquiries are ongoing.

“Anyone with information about the burglary is asked to contact West Yorkshire Police on 101, referencing incident 1777 of 30/8.

“Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”