Boscastle café owner livid with 'thieving little scumbags' caught on CCTV
A furious café owner has condemned the "thieving little scumbags" who stole two RNLI charity boxes from outside of his business.
Ray Nash, 50, owner of The Toby Jug Café in Boscastle, said he knew exactly who the people were but by the time police attended their address, they had moved out of the village.
Mr Nash and other business owners traced the individuals thanks to CCTV footage which captured two local people - a man and a woman - taking one RNLI charity box on October 9. They then had the audacity to return and thieve a second on October 13.
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Dubbing them 'Boscastle's Bonnie and Clyde' he said the pair were terrible at covering their tracks so he hopes they will be brought to justice eventually. He also wanted to warn others that low lives "walk among us".
"The community has really come together and other business owners, strangers, friends and family have made donations," he said, adding that "people are really p**sed off about it".
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He said: "The worst thing has brought out the best in people. It's for the RNLI and we live in a part of the world where they are part of our daily lives. They go out and save people's lives."
In the face of the callous crime, locals came together to replace the money and raised £1,126.25 for the Boscastle & District RNLI. Mr Nash added: "We would like to thank you all for your support and it would be remiss not to mention our fellow business owners who trawled through hours of CCTV to provide the police with the footage to enable them to try to get some kind of justice.
"Unfortunately it appears that Boscastles Bonnie and Clyde have gone to ground, given the fact that they don't appear to be particularly good at covering their tracks I am sure that they will be available for a chat with an officer very soon."
A spokesperson for Devon and Cornwall Police said: "Police are investigating following the theft of two RNLI charity boxes from Boscastle. The large plastic boxes with a dome cover were taken from outside the Toby Jug Café at The Bridge.
"The first theft happened around 7.15pm on 9 October and the second around 10.30pm on 13 October. On both occasions the boxes were dumped by the river or in bushes by Cobweb car park.
"Officers are investigating and seeking two suspects, described as a man and a woman in their 20s. Anyone with information is asked to contact police online or by telephone on 101, quoting crime reference 50240259518."
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