WYTHALL Animal Sanctuary is set to have its security increased, thanks to generous donations from residents and local businesses, after a man broke in and stole a large quantity of donated pet food and toys last week.

CCTV footage shows the man, described as a white man of slim build, between 30 to 40 years of age, loading the items into a stolen red Volkswagen Up on Sunday, May 15.

Since then, supporters have flocked forward to replace the stolen food and toys, and have donated more than £1,500 towards a new security system for the charity.

Simple Security Alarms, a family run business based in Bromsgrove and Redditch, made a generous offer to update the sanctuary's security and prevent a similar incident from happening again.

Jack Fairbotham, owner of Simple Security, said: "I saw the CCTV video first on Facebook and I've got a rescue dog of my own so I wanted to try and do something for them. We've done similar things for churches that have been broken into. We're a small family run business so we can't do a lot for them but I said I'd go over and give them some security advice when I install the alarm."

Manager of Wythall Animal Sanctuary Alison Cookson said: "Since Jack offered to help we've had a couple of people say yes he's brilliant - he's been really great. It's been a relief to get it sorted so quickly.

"We've seen a definite increase in donations since the break-in and the food has now been replaced. People have been so kind, dropping in donations. I set a target of £1,500 on our Just Giving page to cover the cost of the security we need but in fact, the money will cover the cost of the security quoted by Jack and more."

Police are now looking for the man captured on the charity's CCTV, and are appealing to witnesses to come forward.

Anyone with information should contact West Mercia Police on 101, quoting incident number 0678S.

To see the CCTV footage, click here.