A man who rifled through clothes and toys left by wellwishers for a Cancer Research charity has evaded arrest - eight weeks after video footage sparked nationwide anger.
Leicestershire Police has confirmed that no-one has been arrested after the video was released showing a young man outside the Cancer Research UK charity shop, in Market Street, Ashby.
The man can be seen looking through bags of clothes and toy donations left on the pavement in front of the shop while it was closed over a weekend.
In the video, captured by Ashby resident Angela Sherratt on October 22, the man is seen casually putting some of the items into his wheelie bin. But after being confronted by passersby, he empties out the items he has put in the bin and leaves empty-handed.
It led the charity to urge people to donate items during opening hours, rather than leaving donations outside.
The man, seemingly in his 20s and who claimed he couldn’t speak very good English, was seen attempting to explain on video to Mrs Sherratt and other bystanders that he didn’t know the items were donations for the charity shop and thought they had been simply been dumped there.
Mrs Sherratt explained to the man that he couldn’t take the items as they had been left for the charity, saying: "That has been left for this shop; not free for you to come and take. They are for people who are dying of cancer."
People standing with Mrs Sherratt accused the man of bringing the wheelie bin from his own home and of lying that he was unable to speak English.
In the video he continues to look through the bags on the floor, and then agrees when told to stop before leaving with an empty wheelie bin.
The video led to the charity urging people not to leave donations outside the shop.
