A mean theft has angered staff at a Dunedin scrap metal recycling business.
Everitt Enterprises was broken into at the weekend and a Cancer Society donation box, containing an estimated $100-$200, stolen.
"I'm absolutely disgusted," owner Leon Everitt said yesterday.
"We do get ripped off occasionally, but we've never taken it as personally as this one. It absolutely guts me that people would do this. It's sickening. It destroys my faith in people."
The thieves broke into the Wilkie Rd premises between 2pm on Saturday and yesterday morning, Mr Everitt estimated.
A high-tensile steel padlock on the gate was cut during the burglary, which netted only the Cancer Society donation funds.
"Nothing else was taken. You'd think it was someone who had seen it [the donation box] here and knew what they were after," Mr Everitt said.
"They've all been customer donations. I think it's an affront to them and the Cancer Society. It's a trust thing.
"The worst thing is you can just about guarantee it's either going on drugs or alcohol."
Staff were retrieving data from the surveillance camera computer hard drive yesterday to give to police.
"We're also going to reimburse the Cancer Society for the money that was stolen," Mr Everitt said.
The theft was particularly galling to company purchasing yard supervisor Vikki Hewson, who battled and beat cancer last year.
"People give money for a reason. Everyone knows someone who has had cancer," she said.
"We had a guy come in and put $50 in that box one day."
Mr Everitt has offered a $100 reward for information leading to the prosecution of the thief or thieves.
