THIEVES stole cash from a metal box used to collect visitors' donations to the Cherhill White Horse.

The robbers struck at the end of last month, when they smashed a padlock on the collection box, which is positioned near the entrance pathway to the horse on the A4.

The Chairman of the Cherhill White Horse Restoration Committee, Rob Pickford, said the box had not been emptied and he could not be sure how much money was taken.

He said: "They have no regard for other people donating money to the cause, they just want it for themselves."

Mr Pickford said the money would have been put towards the annual maintenance costs of the monument, information boards about the horse and another collection box.

He said the box would be repaired and its security improved, including a metal shield to protect the padlock, to prevent further thefts.