Animal sanctuary volunteers were left “deeply disappointed and upset” after discovering their donation had been stolen.
Hillside Animal Sanctuary in West Runton is run by volunteers and relies on public donations to continue its work rehoming rescued animals.
A donations box - thought to have held more than £200 - was stolen from its Sandy Lane charity shop at the end of June.
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Hillside Animal Sanctuary (Image: Hillside Animal Sanctuary)
Gill Lee, volunteer, said: “We can’t believe how anyone could stoop that low as to steal from donations used solely to help our animals here at Hillside.
“As a team, we work hard to make the bric-a-brac shop appealing to our visitors and give up our time to help raise money that goes towards the care of our animals.
“We’re deeply disappointed and upset that this has happened here, and we encourage whoever has stolen the donation box to do some serious soul-searching and return it to us.”
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Hillside Animal Sanctuary's Bric a Brac shop (Image: Hillside Animal Sanctuary)
The £200 in donations could have been used to buy around 40 bales of hay to help feed around 15 ponies for a week.
Wendy Valentine, the sanctuary's founder, said: “As ever, we’re grateful to all our valued supporters - from those who make donations or ‘adopt’ one of our animals, to the generous people who bring us items to sell by our team of volunteers to visitors in the bric-a-brac shop.
"It is genuinely disheartening that someone has stolen from us. Collectively, we work hard to take care of all our animals and give them the happy life they deserve.
"Our work is only possible through the donations and support we receive.”
Hillside Animal Sanctuary (Image: Hillside Animal Sanctuary)
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