'High levels of theft' from donation banks in West Sussex

Adur and Worthing Police said The Salvation Army has reported ‘high levels of theft’ from charity clothing banks in the Lancing, Shoreham and Worthing areas.

A spokesperson added: “Please report anyone attempting to empty the banks who are not driving a liveried vehicle or carrying ID.”

The Salvation Army Trading Company has also issued a statement.

A spokesperson said: “We are very saddened when clothes that are kindly donated to our clothing bank are stolen.

“Protecting our clothing banks is a priority and we monitor and visit our clothing banks on a regular, often daily, basis.

"Bank theft is an issue that we deal with as part of our operations and while we haven’t seen an increase in theft, we report incidents to the police which has brought attention to this.

"We replace damaged locks immediately and we are grateful to the police and members of the public for supporting us. We hope people will continue to donate to our clothing banks as the money raised is used to help vulnerable people, providing essentials like hot meals for rough sleepers and food parcels for struggling families.”

The charity asked anyone with information about thefts from clothing banks ‘to contact their local police’.