- | Posted: October 17, 2015
CLOSED circuit television at Swansea's St Mary's Church has caught a thief and accomplice in the act stealing the honesty box.
Volunteers at the church have been left devastated by Thursday afternoon's attack — the second time the St Mary's honesty box has been raided in three to four months.
But with clear images of the theft taking place, captured on camera, the volunteers hope the people of Swansea can help identify the two men and contact the police.
"The money that we raise is not a luxury," said volunteer treasurer Allan Jeffery. "It's a necessity to keep this place going."
And volunteer steward, Darren Jones, added: "It's the bread and butter."
According to the CCTV footage, the theft took place at 5.10pm on Thursday.
n be seen walking through the church towards the table, where teas and coffees, books, and cards are exchanged for donations.
One hurdles a pew, as the other keeps watch, before pulling the nailed-down honesty box from the table, knocking cards onto the floor, stuffing it under his coat and walking out.
"I was going to empty it this morning," said Mr Jeffrey, speaking to the Post on Friday.
"So when I saw it wasn't there, I knew straight away what had happened.
"I can understand that times are hard, but we can't understand why someone would actually steal from a church.
"We frequently give teas and coffees, biscuits and sandwiches to desperate people who come in off the street.
"We do that, and then we get something like this — we are all volunteers here and we do our damndest to raise money."
"I was furious," added Mr Jones. "I was closing up and they came in, and I'm not one to judge, so I carried on.
"I came back and the cards were all over the floor, so I picked them up and left."
It was not until Friday morning that Mr Jones and Mr Jeffrey noticed the box was missing.
"It was clearly identified as an honesty box and it worked well — I started it last January and it has worked very well," said Mr Jeffrey.
"We will now have to be a lot more vigilant in terms of having stewards in the church.
"We like to keep the church open as it's a mission, so I would hope we don't have to close it, as it's the main ecclesiastical building in Swansea."
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