7:41am Wednesday 2nd July 2008
By Lucinda Adam
A CHARITY collection bottle for the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance has been stolen from a village pub.
Around £200 went missing in the bottle from the Royal Standard Public House in Widmer End.
The theft happened during the day, between 10.30am and 11.30am on Sunday.
The pub holds regular fundraising events for the charity and has so far donated around £1,300.
Landlady Sherrill McDowell said: "We were absolutely devastated when we realised the bottle was missing.
"We have started to offer food, and I open the doors to offer breakfasts. The doors were opened at 10.30 and I must have been out the back when it happened.
"The bottle and the stand, which were bolted to the wall, have been in situ for 30 years and as such were an integral piece of the pub with various charities over the years benefiting."
The theft comes as the air ambulance warned rocketing fuel prices are pushing up its annual operating costs.
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