A CAR boot sale stall was set up to recuperate charity funds stolen from a West Bay kiosk - only for its bosses to be told during the fundraiser that it had been broken into again.

Manager of Anchors Aweigh, Michael Ackerman, and his wife Jacky decided to sell items at the West Bay Car Boot Sale to recover funds lost when an charity pot for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance was stolen from the kiosk.

The West Bay kiosk was broken into in late August with a charity pot with around £200 in it stolen. It was later broken into again at the end of September.

The couple sold items belonging to Mrs Ackerman's mother, who died in January, which hadn't been left to anyone. Mrs Ackerman's mother was a big supporter of the air ambulance and had wanted to leave money to the service when she passed.

The sale went ahead on Sunday, September 26, with Mr and Mrs Ackerman able to make enough money to cover the funds stolen in the first break in.

Mrs Ackerman said: "We were really chuffed with being able to raise the money. Unfortunately we'd only been at the car boot sale for an hour before getting a call telling us the kiosk had been broken into again.

"It's so frustrating that charity donation pots are being targeted. People contribute a lot to these pots as they are big supporters of the air ambulance and for those funds to be stolen is very low."

She added: "My mum was a huge fan of the Air Ambulance. She wanted to leave money herself to the Air Ambulance when she passed away but unfortunately didn't have enough left.

"We thought doing a car boot sale would be the best way to make up the money stolen and to make the donation in honour of my mum. It was sad to have to sell her things but it was exactly what she would have wanted."

The kiosk was first broken into between the night of Monday, August 30 and the morning of Tuesday, August 31. It was then targeted again between 6.30pm on Saturday 25 September and 7am on Sunday 26 September 2021.

Anchors Aweigh has since tightened up security in order to prevent this type of situation happening again.

Mrs Ackerman said many people were asking her about the situation and some were leaving donations without purchasing anything.

She said: "The community's response to this has been fantastic, it really showed how great the community in Bridport and West Bay is and restored our faith.

"People were so generous, they were listening to the story about the break in and some were making donations without actually buying anything. We're so grateful to everyone who supported us."