Callous duo raids Sheffield charity shop

The distraction theft took place at St Vincent’s charity shop in Abbeydale Road at around 4pm on Sunday afternoon, when a man stole £200 from the till.

The thief is believed to have gained access to the till when he asked 66-year-old volunteer Christine Goppinger to look for some T-shirts in the back of the shop. At the same, time, a woman with whom he had entered the shop distracted her colleague. When Ms Goppinger returned to the front of the shop, the man, who spoke with a Sheffield accent and is believed to be in his 20s, left hurriedly. The suspected female accomplice, believed to be in her 40s, left shortly afterwards. Staff only realised the till had been emptied when they went to use it a few minutes later.

Christine said the burglary has left her feeling 
very shaken.

“We didn’t realise the money had been taken until after they had left but that’s probably a good thing because if we had tried to tackle them, they could have pulled a knife or who knows what could have happened,” she said.

Shop manager Liz Mason said she feels very angry that someone could take advantage of charity volunteers and it will take the shop a while to recoup the money lost in the raid. She said: “We are very saddened that someone could do this. If anyone knows anything please come forward.”

A police spokesman said investigating officers are appealing for witnesses to come forward. Call police on 101 quoting incident number 738 of February 14, 2016.