A ROYAL British Legion Poppy Appeal collection tin has been ‘brazenly’ stolen from a Tesco Express store in Bournemouth.

On the weekend before Remembrance Sunday, at 8.26am on Sunday November 6, a male and female walked into the shop in Moordown with a pair of pliers, cut away the chain and left with a full charity collection tin.

Aadeel Din , store manager, says that it is the audacity and the fact that it was planned that makes the crime so upsetting.

He said: “I think they picked this tin because it would generally hold £1 coins and it was full.”

He added: “I’ve got it all on CCTV, as they came to the door, and peered round before coming in.

“The staff were seeing in a delivery at the time, so there wasn’t anyone on the tills, so customers use the self-service and you can see on the CCTV that the two people timed it well.

“The woman pretended to go shopping, as a distraction and the man walked up to the till.

“He looked around before pulling the chain that connected the collection tin to the till and then took out a pair of pliers, cut the chain and put the tin under his coat.

“The woman then dumped the things she had picked up, and they both looked around to see if anyone had noticed before they left.

“I’ve worked in retail for 20 years and never seen someone do this. It is cold and calculated.

“When you think about it, there are 30 Tesco Expresses within a 12-mile radius, all with collection tins and the tins must fill to about £200 each.

“So it may not be just our store, or even just Tesco stores, so we want other shops in the area to be aware of this.

“Everyone has looked at the CCTV and some staff believe that the people’s faces look familiar.

“So now if they come in the store again, we will know who they are. The footage has also been sent to the other 12 Tesco Express stores in the area.

“The man is aged around 45-years-old and the woman is around 35 – 40.

“I’m not sure if they are a couple or just working together, but we have a clear shot of them from the CCTV camera.”