A HEARTLESS thief raided a popular Radcliffe pub and stole four charity boxes.

The manager of the Sparking Clog, in Radcliffe Moor Road, woke at 5am after the security alarm sounded last Wednesday.

She investigated and found a smashed window by the fire exit — and found the charity boxes gone, ripped from their security chains.

They were raising much-needed funds for Bury Hospice, Macmillan Cancer Care and the North West Air Ambulance Service Charity — and were all almost full.

To make matters worse, the thief stole a pot containing £260 in cash made up of staff tips.

A spokesman for the pub, who asked not to be named, said: "At Christmas, the pub didn't have a manager so the staff didn't have any kind of celebration.

"We wanted to make up for that by collection tips and were planning to have a staff get-together with what we'd collected, but now that's gone.

"Some of the money in there were from cake sales to customers."

The spokesman added: "However, what troubles us more is that he stole the charity boxes.

"To steal from such good causes that do so much for our local community is heartless and unthinkable."

CCTV footage handed to police shows a man aged between 18 and 25 loitering outside the pub for a few minutes before throwing a paving slab through the window.

The thief, who was white, about 5ft 10in tall, and wearing jogging bottoms and a black hooded top, walked straight over to the tips jar behind the bar and grabbed it.

He grabbed six charity boxes, dropped two and left them before fleeing the scene.

The pub spokesman said:"It seems like he knew his way around. The alarm was going off during all this, yet he seemed to know what he was looking for."

Bury Hospice's interim chief executive Stephen Greenhalgh said: "It is saddening to think that someone could be so heartless by stealing charity boxes, which local people have so kindly donated towards for the benefit of people dying from cancer, Motor Neurone Disease and other life shortening-illnesses.

"We depend heavily on the generosity of the public to help fundraise and continue the care and support the hospice provides to patients with serious illnesses, who are often in tragic circumstances facing untimely deaths.

"We own our heartfelt gratitude to businesses such as the Sparking Clog for kindly letting us place charity boxes in their premises, because it offers an easy way for people to contribute towards the charity and makes such a difference when hospices likes ours are fighting to keep funds coming in.

"I am sure that these individuals have never needed the compassionate services that we provide and have no concept of the difference we make to local people when it really matters most."

North West Air Ambulance Charity head of fundraising Jenny Haskey said: "We are deeply saddened that collection tins have been stolen from the pub.

"As a charity reliant on donations, we're disappointed to find that people are taking advantage of supporter funds for their own gains."

A Macmillan spokesman echoed those comments and thanked the pub staff and customers for their support.

A Greater Manchester Police spokesman said officers were investigating the incident and appealed for witnesses or anyone with information to call 101.