FOOD, clothes and money donated to help the homeless and down on their luck has been stolen from a garage in Bournemouth.

Most of the items were on their way to the soup kitchen at Richmond Hill St Andrews United Reformed Church, run by local charity Hope for Food.

But also among them were prizes and other items donated for the charity’s fundraising fun day at Pelham’s Park Leisure Centre in Kinson tomorrow, and the thief ransacked the garage during the raid.

Hope for Food founder Claire Matthews said: “I had left the garage unlocked as we were working and people were dropping donations off, but the doors were closed.

“I saw what had happened at about 9.10am, they had trashed the garage and the car. They took everything, even my CDs and the change I keep for parking.”

She said she would have to replace all the items because “at the end of the day these chaps still need feeding”.

“Whoever did this may be desperate, but if they had knocked on my door I would have helped them.

“I would have given them my last 10p,” said Ms Matthews.

The Hope for Food fun day will be opened by the mayor at 11am and runs until 4pm, with appearances from Peppa Pig, Ben 10 and children’s entertainer Jamie Jambo, alongside stalls and games.