A fundraising appeal has been launched after a charity shop in St Neots was broken on March 17.

Thieves smashed the door of the Cats Protection shop, in Cross Keys, on March 17, to gain entry and stole a safe, containing cash.

Now a fundraising campaign has been launched by a member of the public who wants to help the charity.

Money is needed to repair the door of the shop, as well as replace the stolen money.

Amanda Collins, who set up the Just Giving page, said: “The community-run Cats Protection shop in St Neots was broken into at the weekend.

“The thieves broke in through the door and ripped the safe out.

“I’ve started this page to try and help them out as they now need to find the funds to replace the door, the safe and money.”

So far, £60 has been raised of the £500 target to help fix the damage to the shop.

In a post on Facebook, Cats Protection said: “We are really upset to report that our charity shop in St Neots was broken into in the early hours of Sunday, March 17, from 3am - 6am.

“Our safe was stolen and damage was done as they gained entry.

“This is really upsetting for our shop volunteers as they work very hard to raise funds for our cats.

“If you think you may have seen something or have any information that might help catch whoever did this please contact Cambridgeshire police.”

A spokesman for Cambridgeshire police told the Hunts Post: “ We were called at 10.55am on March 17 with reports of a burglary at the Cats Protection.

“It was reported that a safe had been stolen. Officers, including those trained in forensics, attended the scene. No arrests have yet been made.

“Anyone with information regarding this incident should call police on 101 quoting 35/18858/19 or visit www.cambs.police.uk/report.”

Anyone wishing to make a donation to the fundraising campaign can do so by logging on to Just Giving and search: www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/helping-local-cp?utm_id=1&utm_term=XEEmJVmxR.