CCTV footage shows the moment that a man brazenly stole a charity box from the counter of an ice cream parlour.
A video from Scoopalicious, in Bolton town centre, shows a man and woman enter the store in the middle of the day. The woman speaks to a member of staff, while the man takes the charity box and hides it up his jumper, before walking out.
Fozeia Rehman, who runs the business alongside her husband Khaliq, said that had been collecting donations for Royal Manchester Children's Hospital - a cause which is close to their heart. "In April 2016, my son had an accident in Bury," she told the Manchester Evening News .
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"He was coming home from school and his left leg got caught under the wheel of a car and was smashed to pieces. The Royal Manchester Children's Hospital pieced it all back together which was basically a miracle as it looked like he could lose his leg."
Mrs Rehman said that the charity box was chained to the counter so claimed that the man must have used something to detach it. She also believes that the woman, who entered and left the store with the man, acted as a distraction.
She added: "They walked in and the lady came to the sink area and started asking about our waffles. Then she walked over to look at the chocolate bars on the wall that we have to make the milkshakes.
"That's when the man came over to the charity box and he tried to gauge how much was inside. While she's chatting, he used some sort of tool to snip the chain. Then he grabbed it and put it under his jumper. He then walked away and they both left.
"Who steals charity boxes? It's just beyond me. I can't understand why anyone would want to do that. It's ridiculous."
M.E.N has approached Greater Manchester Police for comment.
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