Thieves have made off with a substantial amount of money meant to help people suffering from cancer.
The theft followed a break-in at the Marie Curie shop on Riverside Walk in Port Talbot earlier this week.
They gained entrance by smashing a window in the front door, and then chiselled their way through an upstairs fire door where they located a safe. They then managed to extract a 'large' sum of money from the safe, before making off.
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Melanie Emery, the shop's assistant manager, said: "Whoever did this are absolute low life. People living opposite the shop heard a loud bang sometime between five and six in the morning, and when the Job Centre security guard arrived for work a short term later, they noticed an upstairs room light on.
"The bottom pane of glass in the front door had been smashed and they had tried to get into the till with a screwdriver. We usually leave the drawer open to show there is no money in it, but a member of staff had closed it on this occasion.
"They went upstairs and chisled around the lock of the door to the room where the safe is kept, and managed to get the money from the safe, although they left a laptop. They are total scumbags".
In addition to the loss of cash, the break-in meant the shop lost a day's trading while they dealt with the theft and mess left its wake.
And they now face a bill to repair the till, the door lock and the safe.
Marie Curie shops raise money for charity Marie Curie Cancer Care, which provides care and support to people with terminal illnesses, and their families. The theft will deprive the charity of much-needed funding.
Melanie Emery added: "What sort of person steals from a charity? It is absolutely heart-breaking. They ransacked everything".
She also paid thanks to a local security firm which has offered to provide security systems to the shop following the theft, including sensors, alarms and CCTV.
A spokesman for South Wales Police said: "We were called around 9.25am on Tuesday, March 8. following reports of a burglary at Marie Curie on Riverside Walk, Station Road, Port Talbot.
"Investigations are ongoing and anyone with information is asked to contact us by one of the following means quoting occurrence 2200077339".
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