Laois charity shop urges thief to pay or else CCTV footage will go to gardaí

The manager of a Laois charity shop has warned a woman who stole a leather bag to return and pay for the item or face prosecution. 

St Vincent de Paul charity shop in Stradbally posted a message on social media following the theft of the leather bag from the store last Thursday. 

Incredibly, Manager Sinead Moore, said the store just had a new CCTV system installed a day before the item was taken from the store. 

“As luck might have it we had a new system fitted on Wednesday of last week and it happened on Thursday,” she said.

Ms Moore described the incident as “very unfortunate” and said the shop would help people if they were in genuine need but that didn’t appear to be the case in this instance. She is giving the thief a few days to come forward before she approaches gardaí with the CCTV footage. 

Ms Moore said the women can be clearly seen in the footage from the new system in the shop. 

A notice on the shop’s social media said: “Dear Customers, It is unfortunate that we have to post this, but as a charity shop, every purchase helps us support those in need in our local community.

On Thursday last, a lady took a leather bag from our shop without paying. Our newly installed CCTV cameras captured very clear footage of the incident. If the lady involved could return and pay for the item, we would really appreciate it. Otherwise, we will have to pass the footage on to the Gardaí. Thank you to all our loyal customers for your support.”

Speaking to the Leinster Express, Ms Moore, said nobody had yet come forward but she would give the lady a few days. 

“Hopefully it will be resolved because nobody wants to bother the gardaí. At the same time, we can’t ignore theft,” Ms Moore remarked. 

She said she was prepared to give the woman “the benefit of the doubt” and allow her time to return to the shop to pay for the item. 

Ms Moore pointed out that it was a charity shop and donated items are sold for the benefit people in need in the community. She said the shop is there to help people in genuine need.