Cash has been stolen from the donation box of a north-east castle’s walled gardens.
Police are appealing for anyone who saw someone in a car behaving suspicously at Fyvie Castle on Thursday night to come forward.
The donations box, which sits outside the ornate gate to the walled grounds, was taken apart by the culprit between 4pm on Thursday and 8am on Friday.
Around £50 is thought to have been taken from the funds.
Head gardener Gordon Thomson said he was saddened at the theft.
He said: “It’s a shame the select few are spoiling something so good.
“The box has been there almost a year and we’ve never had a problem until we came in on Friday morning and could clearly see some of the money had gone.
“The bolts that hold the box together were loose.
“We hadn’t counted how much was in there, we usually leave money in as an incentive for people to donate.
“The donations go some way to helping cover the costs and we empty it regularly but its made us think twice about where it is located and whether we should buy a most secure box from off the shelf.”
For now the box has been secured and is still in place.
Officers are appealing for anyone with information to contact 101.
