THE theft of a charity collection bucket has sparked fears of a door-to-door scam.
Residents are being warned not to give any money to anyone who may try to use the stolen bucket.
A pair of dedicated fundraisers had their collection snatched from outside their Buckley home during the night.
Dave Brackenbury and his wife Lin, a special needs teacher at Ysgol Argoed, have been raising money for local charities for the last seven years.
Every Christmas the couple light up their home with decorations and people flock to see them. They chose the Clwyd Special Riding Centre in Llanfynydd as their nominated charity for 2012.
But one of the riding school’s branded buckets placed outside their home was stolen during the hours of darkness. Fortunately there was not thought to be a substantial amount of money taken as the buckets are emptied every day.
Clwyd Special Riding School manager Pippa Hattan said: “We are really sad this happened because this couple took the bucket for us all in good faith to try to help us because we rely very heavily on donations and sponsors.
"We are sad for them and a bit concerned in case someone goes door-to-door with our bucket claiming they are collecting for us.”
She said the buckets are only given to the centre’s volunteers and trustees who never go from door-to-door or collect in the street.
Mr Brackenbury said: “People come to see our lights and drop money in the collection box. This year somebody ran off with the box and whatever takings that were in there.
“We are trying to raise awareness and help the charity with a bit of money then somebody runs off with it. We chose the Clwyd Special Riding Centre as it is a local children’s charity.”
Anybody with information should call North Wales Police on the non-emergency telephone number 101.