by Chris Allen

A man is wanted for being the "lowest of the low" – stealing a Poppy Appeal tin from a church.

He swiped the charity collection box, containing an estimated £50, from Bristol's St Mary Redcliffe Church, not realising that his crime was being recorded on CCTV.

It is one of 12 tins stolen in the city centre this year – costing the Royal British Legion's fundraising campaign an estimated £1,000 in lost donations.

Tins have also disappeared from shops in Park Street, bars along the Waterfront and the Colston Hall.

Fundraisers say the thief pictured today is "despicable" and the Bristol Evening Post is asking all readers: "Do you know this man?"

An average tin collects between £40 and £100 in the run-up to Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day, when the nation stands still to pay respect to all those who have lost their lives at war. However, some tins can hold as much as £1,000 when they are finally handed back to charity officials.

The cash donated to the Poppy Appeal is used by the Royal British Legion to support veterans in need of help, families of servicemen and women who have been killed or injured, and many who are still serving in the armed forces.

Last year, the legion's Bristol branch raised £101,000 from almost 3,000 tins positioned in shops, cafes, pubs, churches and offices around the city.

Roger Duddridge, chairman of the City of Bristol Royal British Legion branch, said: "I feel extremely sad and a little bit sick that people would stoop this low. It breaks my heart. It's a despicable crime – the lowest of the low.

"The money in those poppy tins is to help people who have fought for their country; some who have lost limbs, others who have lost family members and loved ones.

"We rely on that money and, unlike other charities, only have a two-week window in which to collect it."

The man wanted for taking the tin from St Mary Redcliffe Church is believed to be from North Somerset, although police stressed he could currently be anywhere in the greater Bristol area.

He walked into the city centre church on Sunday, October 26, and helped himself to the tin.

Redcliffe beat manager PC Nick King said: "He entered the church and stole the poppy tin, which contained about £50, although it could have been more, on Sunday, October 26 – two weeks before Remembrance Sunday. We are keen to speak to this man but need the public's help to track him down."

Bristol's Jamie Cooper, the youngest solider to be injured in Iraq, branded all of the thieves "disgusting".

He said: "Anyone who steals poppy boxes needs to take a long hard look at themselves.

"They have been disrespectful to every single veteran in this country, not to mention those who have been killed in action.

"To call them the lowest of the low doesn't go far enough in my book. They are a total disgrace.

"I would urge anyone who recognises the man who took the box from St Mary Redcliffe Church to contact the police."

South Gloucestershire has fared better than Bristol, with none of the 800 tins there this year.

If you know this man, ring PC Nick King at Trinity Road police station in Bristol on 0800 456 7000 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.