'Heartless' vandals have caused hundreds of pounds worth of damage to a charity shop.

They threw a brick through a window of a Weldmar Hospicecare shop, leaving the charity 'devastated' as it means funds that could've gone on specialist end-of-life care will now have to go on repairing the damage.

The incident took place at Weldmar's Gillingham outlet over the weekend.

Gavin Anderson-Terry, director of retail, said he was 'disgusted' by the actions of those responsible.

“For someone to purposefully damage any property is bad enough, but throwing a brick through a charity shop window is just beyond the pale," he said.

"It means that the money we have to spend on fixing the damage will not be going towards the specialist end-of-life care that we provide in Dorset, where it should be.

“I would ask the local community in Gillingham to rally round and show their support for the shop, which has been serving the town since 1994. Our team is made up of hardworking staff and volunteers, people who are invested in the work of the charity, and it’s devastating for them to discover this has happened first thing on a Monday morning."

The charity is urging anyone with information to contact Dorset Police.