Prince William and Princess Kate have offered to replace all the food stolen from a food bank by heartless thieves.
St Thomas Church in Swansea, Wales, was raided over the weekend, with all donations taken, also including bikes and children's toys.
Rev Steven Bunting said he was today contacted by Kensington Palace on behalf of the Prince and Princess of Wales - who visited his church last year - with the touching gesture.
He said: "We opened up on Monday to move our food into our church, where we give the food away and all the bags have been taken, all the existing food supplies have gone, and those other items as well - bike, children's toys from our baby charity."
The future King and his wife were guests at the church in September 2022 - and are among those to have reached out to help.
Rev Bunting continued: "The response has been crazy. It's been so hard to be discouraged when we've been surrounded by so much love and generosity.
"We've had people coming in donating £5, all the way up to the local working men's club, the local schools and businesses and the Prince and Princess of Wales contacted us earlier to offer their love and support."
He added: "They would like to replace the food that was taken."
The vicar went on to say the culprit or culprits gained entry overnight to the hall on Saturday (June 3) via a fire exit.
He estimated they were in the building for around 30 minutes, given the quantity of stock taken.
Doors to side rooms had been opened.
Some of the food was packed in bags ready to be handed to families on Monday morning, though a larger quantity wasn't bagged.
He told WalesOnline: "I think the likelihood is that it was someone who has previously used us, which makes it all the sadder.
"If someone had come in and said, 'I'm absolutely desperate, I need £20,' it would have been easier for us to give it to them."
The resale value of the stolen stock, he said, was negligible.
"Someone has got to be desperate to think a food bank is the best thing to steal from," he said.
"It deprived people a week's worth of food. We had to turn people away, which is not a very nice feeling."
Rev Bunting had been hesitant to report the burglary to South Wales Police because he said he wanted to help the person or people responsible rather than them facing prosecution.
He said they were clearly "not in a good place" and that being arrested would be "another step in the wrong direction".
The food bank has been running for around seven years - from the church itself rather than the hall - and now supports 170 to 200 individuals.
During William and Kate's visit they met members of the congregation and volunteers.
Princess Kate described the food bank as a "lifeline" for many people.
She added: "There is amazing work going on here. Keep up the hard work."
Pat Hughes, one of the women who runs the food bank, said: "It was lovely to chat with the Princess and it's something we won't forget."
