THIEVES are stealing clothes from a York charity shop, taking away much-needed cash from the poor.

Oxfam manager Kate Frankish hit out at heartless shoplifters who are costing the organisation hundreds of pounds a year in lost revenue.

The final straw came when two silver sequin skirts worth £60 each were stolen from the Goodramgate store - and then thieves cut a huge hole in the back of a £20 sheepskin coat.

Other chartity shops in the same area have also reported thefts.

Ms Frankish said: "It is terrible thieves are targeting a charity shop because they are not taking money away from a business, but from people who really need it.

"The £20 would have provided 350 school meals for children in Africa, for example.

"It is frightening that someone would have the cheek to actually cut a hole in the back of a coat while in the shop - just because they needed the material.

"Shoplifters are regularly stealing from us and I know it is happening in other charity shops around the city as well."

Prize items donated by kind members of the public are put in prominent display in the shop to attract customers - but the ploy is also bringing in thieves.

Staff were horrified last month when one sequin skirt was ripped from a costume dummy, then, when they replaced it with a second skirt, that went as well.

The charity shop is fitted with CCTV but, unfortunately, neither of the incidents were captured on video.

Oxfam is also a member of the Retailers Against Crime in York group, which means it shares information and has pictures of known shoplifters in the store.

"The police do treat theft from charities seriously," said Ms Frankish. "The last person caught shoplifting from here who ended up in court was jailed for nine months, so must have been a repeat offender."

Other charity shops contacted by the Evening Press reported that they had problems with shoplifters.

Some thieves replaced clothes on display with their own dirty or torn clothes and then walked out in the stolen clothes.

Alison Bootland, of the PDSA pets charity shop in Goodramgate, said: "It is despicable. They think we are stupid and run by little old ladies. We are very professional; those days are gone."

At Save The Children, manager Craig Humble said they had to lock a shop cabinet to prevent jewellery-like items being stolen, and that they lost more than five per cent of ethnic goods.

Updated: 09:43 Monday, January 02, 2006