A COLLECTION box containing money to maintain the pond at Hanley Swan has been stolen from the village post office.

Staff noticed the sweet jar, containing between £25 and £30, was missing from the post office counter on Saturday morning after being alerted by a customer.

The money is collected to fund maintenance of the pond, which is one of Hanley Swan's main attractions, and also to feed its resident ducks.

Alan Davies, husband of postmistress Rosalind Davies, said a customer had noticed the jar had gone missing at around 10am on Saturday.

"Because it's Christmas we are busier. It had never been bolted down, it was always left there," he said.

"In the past you'd think you'd never require that here, but times have changed.

"We're very disappointed. We've got a good local customer base here, so many people give to the fund and it's disheartening to see this kind of thing happen."

Mr Davies said people had already given donations to make up for the theft.

"We have been very surprised by people's generosity," he said.

Brian Robinson, who looks after the pond, said: "I feel sorry for the people that support, putting bits of change in there. It's just one of those things."

He said the next project that money raised would go towards will be nesting boxes. Recently the money has been spent on seats and a picnic table.