A SHOPKEEPER is appealing for the public's help in tracing a man who swiped a children’s charity collection box from his counter.

Robert Lanbourne, of Anglia Battery Auto Store, in Woodfield Park Drive, Leigh, has released CCTV footage of the man who allegedly took the Great Ormond Street Hospital collection box from the shop.

The shop had kept the charity box on its till for about eight years, after the support Mr Lanbourne’s family received from the world famous children’s hospital when his 10-year-old nephew, now fit and healthy, was born prematurely.

Mr Lanbourne only noticed it was missing when a regular customer attempted to donate some change. A search of CCTV revealed it had been taken.

Mr Lanbourne, 50, said: “It happened at 3.30pm on Saturday according to the CCTV camera, but I only noticed it was gone at 9.30am on Monday when someone bought something for 99p and wanted to put a penny in the box.

“I went back to look at the tape and we saw him walking past the shop and looking in so he must have stepped in when we were in the other office and swiped it.

“Any charity would be bad enough, but it’s pretty low to steal from a children’s hospital.

“We’ve never thought about chaining it before, but we might chain our lifeboat one now too.”

Mr Lanbourne said he has never known anything stolen from the shop in his nine years there.

He also wants to warn other shops in the area to be on the lookout as the camera recorded the man walking down Leigh Road.

A police spokeswoman said: “The incident was reported to us on September 2. It happened on August 30 at about 3.30pm.

“The suspect entered the store and removed the charity box from the counter and left the store.”

Anyone with information about the man or the incident can call police on 101.