Donation box stolen from Chesham's Chapter Two bookshop

Mark Jackson-Hancock, who runs the Chapter Two Community bookshop along the town’s High Street, said that despite the second-hand store being open for five years, the incidents have taken place ‘within the last year’.

The police have been informed and were ‘very helpful’ towards the charity, but no arrests or charges have been made.

The money was never recovered.

Mark Jackson-Hancock is the manager of the book shop in Chesham (Image: NQ)

He told the Free Press: “We have seen a slight increase in crime in Chesham and I believe some people are desperate.

“It’s a sign of the times.

“We have had our collection box stolen twice from the counter, even though it was chained up.

“It tends to be professional thieves as they distract a member of staff whilst cutting the chain, but they don’t steal any of the books as they aren’t that valuable anyway.

“They often target cash and money.

“In the last year, it has happened twice and in the five years that we have been open, that has never happened before.

“This is a recent phenomenon and they were about a month apart.”

Whilst no-one has been charged with the crimes, Mr Jackson-Hancock believes it was ‘the same perpetrator’ who committed the crimes, and that the person in question ‘had disguised themselves’ when allegedly returning for a second time.

Despite this, the shop is well-respected by the local community, as it boasts a perfect 5/5 score from 21 Google Reviews, with many people praising the array of books that are up for sale, as well as the friendly customer service.

The manager continued: “We thought it was the same perpetrator, so now, we don’t have the collection box out, so if someone wants to make a donation, we put the money out back so it’s out of the public eye.

“The police were informed and they were very good in helping us, but there was no resolution as there were no charges.

“We did spot the culprit the second time, but they had disguised their appearance as they had a hood up and a scarf at the bottom of their face.”

On recent trade, he concluded: “Business has been excellent as we have a very good and loyal customer base, and they are very supportive of the shop and the charity.”

Money raised by the shop goes to The Hospice of St Francis in Berkhamsted, which provides a range of care and support for people with life-limiting conditions.”

To visit the store, go to www.stfrancis.org.uk/supporting-us/shop-with-us/chapter-two.