A MAN has kindly replaced the charity money which was stolen from a Bradford pub during a burglary earlier this week.

The Corn Dolly, on Bolton Road, BD1, caught a yob entering and stealing two collections containing many coins on their CCTV cameras in the early hours of Monday morning.

Bill Arnold, 70, read the story in Thursday’s Telegraph & Argus and was understandably furious at the ‘despicable’ crime committed at a place he is extremely fond of.

Now living in Thackley, after moving to Bradford from Brighton 32 years ago, Bill pops in at least once a fortnight to enjoy a drink.

He also likes the company of managers Anthony and Neil Dunkin, who are understood to be blown away by their customer’s amazing gesture.

Both charities, which the Corn Dolly supports, Marie Curie UK and Diabetes UK, are close to Bill’s heart. His wife’s sister sadly passed away from cancer and he himself has diabetes.

Not wanting to kick up too much of a fuss about his generous act, Bill said: “How low can you get? It is a terrible crime. It is just despicable.

"At the the end of the day, charity is charity. I felt like I had to do this after seeing it in the paper because I love The Corn Dolly and both charities are very close to my heart.”

Footage showed the intruder - who was dressed in a tracksuit and appears to have very short hair, if any, under his cap - go behind the bar to snatch a heavy bottle of coins.

He appeared to only be interested in the charity money, not the till or the alcohol on display.

Manager Anthony Dunkin, who lives above the pub, was extremely annoyed when he woke up in the morning to discover his customers’ hard-earned money that they had donated was no longer there.

He said: “We didn’t really notice at first but then I went to go put a penny in one of the jars and they weren’t there.

“He got in through the top window. There is a little bit of damage on the rubber so I don’t know if it wasn’t shut and he has managed to get it open or not.

“We were in bed upstairs. We didn’t hear a thing. He was very sneaky.

“It does seem like someone must have told him about them because he walked straight in and went for the bottle.

“He didn’t touch anything else. He came in grabbed the bottle, went to the window then came back for the other bottle and off he went.

“I was only thinking the other day that I better start what we normally do with them. It’s a competition when you pay a £1 to enter and you have to guess how much is in it. Most people then give their winnings to the charity.”

The incident took place at around 3:20am on August 30 and West Yorkshire Police said on Wednesday that enquiries are ongoing.

The T&A tried to contact the police yesterday for an update on their investigation but did not receive a response.

Although they are still encouraging anyone with information about the burglary to contact West Yorkshire Police on 101, referencing incident 1777 of 30/8. Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.