CHARITY volunteers have been left fuming today after thieves took one of their collection buckets.

Police are appealing for witnesses following the theft of the bucket, which contained about �40 for SERV (Service by Emergency Rider Volunteers) – a charity which transports blood, platelets and other emergency medical items to hospitals.

The incident happened during a charity collection day at Manning’s Amusements, in Sea Road, on Sunday.

A spokeswoman for Suffolk police said one of the volunteers put a bucket down while helping a child on to one of the bikes so they could their photograph taken.

Andy Jaques, 50, a volunteer with the charity, said his team were left seething when they realised what had happened.

He added: “We were really annoyed and upset because people knew why we were there and why we were collecting, so we were upset about that.

“The upset turned to anger that someone could do that to a charity collection.”

The charity is currently raising money to fund rider training for the volunteers who transport the medical items for free. Mr Jaques, of Fircroft Road, Ipswich, was also quick to thank the stallholders at Manning’s who supported the fundraisers following the theft.

He said: “The stallholders were brilliant down there. They heard about it and had a whip-round and raised a bit more money for us.”

The bucket was red, with a white lid and had a SERV sticker on it. The theft happened some time between 9.30am and 9.45am.

If you have any information about who took the bucket, please call Pc Williamson at Felixstowe Police Station on 101.

Send your messages of support to the SERV team, register now and leave your comments below.