Thieves have stolen a charity box while pretending to make an order at a north-east takeaway.
Police are investigating after staff at Rex’s Kitchen in Banff reported that a man and woman had stolen a collection tin meant for the local lifeboat.
The cash, for Macduff RNLI, would have supported the charity to continue to save lives at sea.
The group’s community safety officer, Mike Rawlins, said: “We use the money for training and for times when we need to kit up new crew members.
“For example inshore lifeboat kit for a new crewman costs around £2,000 and as a station we have to find the money for it.
“It ensures they are suitably equipped.”
It is unknown how much money was stolen from the Chinese takeaway.
Mr Rawlins added: “For the reason of them possibly being stolen, we try to keep them as empty as possible.
“We were very disappointed.
“In the north-east of Scotland we are suffering badly from the downturn.
“People have less money to put into charity boxes and for people who take it upon themselves to steal what is donated is massively disappointing.
“We will be giving Rex’s Kitchen a new box and will be talking about ways where we can make the tin more secure.”
Describing the incident on social media, staff at the takeaway branded it “unfortunate”.
“This is just a warning to other shop owners to be careful,” they added.
A spokeswoman for the police said inquiries were “ongoing”.
It is the second time a charity box for the lifeboat has been stolen in the area.
Last October, cash was lost when a thief took a collection tin from the J&J Newsagents on Duff Street, Macduff.