A MAN has said he’s been left “distraught” after a speaker worth hundreds of pounds was stolen during a fundraiser for terminally ill children.

D-Vision Entertainment hosted the 'Jumpin' Jack Frost & Friends, Funk & Disco Extravaganza', in aid of the Dorset Children’s Foundation at Chaplin's & The Cellar Bar in Boscombe on Saturday, July 2.

The speaker, a JBL Partybox 300 which usually costs between £300 and £600, was taken from the bar's back garden while organisers were packing away equipment.

It it isn't returned, some of the money raised will have to be used to replace it. 

Darin Wilton, the director of D-Vision Entertainment, has been fundraising for Dorset Children's Foundation for years and raised £30,000 in total via previous events.

He said: "I am very angry about this. Obviously, we put a lot of work into this. This has been six months of planning to do the event. And the day went spectacularly... but to find out one of our speakers has gone missing, it's a big hit for us."

Patsy Hallmey, the founder of Dorset Children's Foundation, said: "As a foundation we are so saddened to hear of the theft of the speaker, especially as this was a charity event to directly support local children with disabilities.

“We hope the person who took this has some form of conscience and returns it as they have stolen from the most vulnerable children in our community."

Darin added: "This is a very worthy charity and they're taking money away from children that are terminally ill. You don't want to know what I think of them at this moment. I'm actually distraught. I can't put into words how this has hit us."

No further action will be taken if the speaker is returned, he said.

A Dorset Police spokesperson said: “Dorset Police can confirm they received a call to report that a speaker had been stolen on 2 July 2022, between 6.30pm and 7.30pm from inside the back garden of Chaplins' Bar.”