A THIEF who stole a charity tin from a Basingstoke coffee shop has been jailed.

Jawad Ahmed, 36, stole the collection tin, which contained around £60, from the counter of Starbucks, in The Malls, on Friday, February 28. He also stole perfume worth £37.99 from The Perfume Shop in Festival Place, on the same day.

Ahmed, of Fishwick Parade, Preston, Lancashire was filmed on CCTV and soon arrested. He was charged with two counts of theft from a shop and was sentenced to four weeks in jail after pleading guilty to theft at Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court.

The court heard the collection tin was for Naomi House, the children’s hospice in Sutton Scotney, near Winchester. Starbucks employee Cheynne Levene-Endfield, 17, was collecting money for a freefall skydive, which is due to take place at the end of this month.

She said: “The most upsetting thing about the collection pot being stolen is that our customers were so generous, and the money was destined for a really good cause.”

Cheynne has since set up an online donations page which has raised more than £110.

Keith Wilson, senior communications officer at Naomi House and Jacksplace, said: “Thankfully, occurrences such as these are relatively rare, but remain very upsetting for those concerned.

“Cheynne worked extremely hard to raise money for our hospices, and in the blink of an eye it was gone. We wish her every success with her future fundraising and feel confident that the good people of Basingstoke will rally to support her.”