Charity workers are shocked after a clothing donations bank has been broken into four times so far this year.

Thieves have taken an estimated £1,000 worth of items from Scope's textiles bank in the Tesco Riverhead store car park in Aisher Way, Sevenoaks on Monday, January 29, and Friday, Monday, and Friday February 2, 19, and 23 respectively.

As well as the loss of donations, the charity has had to fork out for replacement locks, costing between £120 and £130 to call out locksmiths each time.

Nick Wilks, national stock co-ordinator at the disability charity, said: “It’s shocking when people steal from charity textile banks. These banks are an invaluable source of donations and income for local Scope shops, and damaged locks are expensive to repair.

“Staff and volunteers at our local shops work incredibly hard to raise vital funds for disabled people and their families, so this spate of thefts has been a real blow."

The charity believes whoever was breaking in would have made a lot of noise when chiselling off the locks and wants to make people in the area aware so they can be on the look-out in case it happens again.

“We urge members of the public who see anyone damaging or breaking into our banks to contact the police immediately”, added Mr Wilks.