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Audlem Poppy Thief sentenced

2nd February 2011 @ 5:05pm – by Audlem Webteam
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A 43-year-old Shropshire man who stole a Poppy Appeal collection box from Audlem's Co-operative Food Store has avoided an immediate prison sentence. Andrew David Guy, of Beechwood Court, Market Drayton, was in court yesterday.

He appeared before Crewe Magistrates Court, which heard Guy stole the box belonging to the Royal British Legion from the shop in Shropshire Street on November 13, 2010.

The value of the contents of the collection box was unknown except, of course, to the thief. He admitted one charge of theft and was given a four month prison sentence suspended for 12 months.

He was also ordered to carry out 250 hours unpaid work in the community and meet the requirements of a 12 months supervision order.

Poppy Appeal organisers in Market Drayton, where Guy lives, today branded his actions as "very bad". Len Birch, who organises the annual appeal in the Market Drayton area, but not Audlem, said: "If he stole a Poppy Appeal box then he deserves everything he gets.

"It's very bad because, as you can imagine, a lot of work goes into the appeal and for somebody to come along and steal the boxes is just terrible. I had five stolen from my section two years ago all across the area and it was very upsetting."

The annual Poppy Appeal supports forces veterans and their families across Britain. In 2010 fundraisers set a nationwide target of £36 million. Unfortunately, this sum did not include the money donated by a good number of Audlem and district residents.


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