A thief has left Royal British Legion officials disgusted after he stole a Poppy Day collection box from inside a church.

The man turned up at St Clement's Church in Dartmouth last Wednesday where he told a churchwarden that he was a poppy collector who had arrived to pick up the collection tin and the box of poppies.

Then he walked off with the tin and an unknown quantity of cash – leaving the box of poppies behind.

The theft has shocked officials at the Dartmouth branch of the Royal British Legion who cannot remember anything like it happening before.

Dartmouth poppy collection organiser David Oliver: 'Whoever did this is callous. I think that it is disgusting – not only to take the money which was for the poppy appeal but also to steal it from a church.'

He said that nothing like it had had happened in the three years he had been involved in the Royal British legion poppy collection.

And he said that no one could remember it happening before that either.

He said both the box of poppies and the collection tin containing the donations had been kept just inside the door at St Clements Church.

'On Wednesday last week one of the lady wardens was there and the guy said he had come to pick up the box and the collection tin,' said Mr Oliver.

He said the man had only taken the tin and when the church officials brought in the box the next day to explain it had been left behind it was realised that the collection tin had been stolen.

Mr Oliver pointed out that the stolen collection tin was one of almost 100 that are put out in Dartmouth and the surrounding villages in the three-week run up to Remembrance Sunday.

Last year, the branch collected more than £8,000 towards the appeal which goes towards providing help and support for ex-servicemen and women.

So far more than £7,000 has been collected in from the various boxes, with more still to be processed.

Mr Oliver said that so far the St Clement's Church collection box was the only one which appears to have been stolen.

He said no one could say how much cash the stolen tin had contained.

But, he pointed out, one collection tin alone which had been in the Sainsbury's store in Dartmouth contained more than £270.

Mr Oliver said that next year the Legion plans to make it clear that no one should be allowed to pick up collection tins unless they are recognised Royal British Legion badge holders.