VANDALS caused thousands of pounds of damage after throwing what is thought to be a paint bomb through the window of an Amersham charity shop.

Labels, which is connected to the Stoke Mandeville-based Florence Nightingale Hospice, was attacked either late on Monday night or in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Two designer dresses worth thousands of pounds were among the items to be "splattered" with orange paint and staff are uncertain if they can be cleaned and put up for sale again.

The shop had to close for a whole day whilst the damage was repaired and police looked for clues, meaning the charity lost out on valuable funding.

The Florence Nightingale Hospice provides palliative care to patients living across the county and store manager Lynne, who discovered the damage, said staff had been left "distressed" by the attack.

She said: "It's absolutely sickening considering we are trying to raise money for the hospice. It's quite traumatic when you come in to find that kind of thing.

"We put our heart and soul into something, trying to make people's lives better in their last days."

She described the shop floor as being "littered with glass" after the missile, believed to be a paint bomb, was thrown through the window.

Police are investigating the incident. Anyone with information should contact PC Clare Harrison of Thames Valley Police by calling 101.