A BRAZEN thief is being hunted by police after posing as a charity work to steal a collection tin from a pub - and bringing it back empty.

Bar staff at Home in Kilwinning were left stunned to discover the man claiming to be from the MS Society who had taken the full money tin away – and brought it back empty a day later - was an imposter.

Kris Fearon, 31, who is licensee of the pub, says when the thief spoke to staff he was very convincing.

He said: “He was wearing MS badges and knew a lot about the charity so the bar staff never questioned him. He was very convincing and no one would think that someone would be so callous as to steal money from a charity. It’s disgusting.”

Kris says the bar has long supported the MS Society because the charity’s shop is next door to Home and it wasn’t until he spoke with someone at the shop that he realised his staff had been duped.

He said: “The thief came in to the pub on the Sunday afternoon and took the tin away and, unbelievably, brought it back on the Monday about 11am.

“At that point we still didn’t realise he was a fraud. it wasn’t until we spoke to staff next door that we realised he had stolen the money.

“I just can’t believe he had the audacity to bring the tin back.

“We have supported the charity for a long time because their shop is next door to our pub. The staff in there are devastated. They can’t believe it. We don’t know how much money was in it but it’s not really the point. Every penny counts and stealing from charity is just disgraceful.”

Kris is now hosting a Race Night on Friday, June 10 to raise some money for the MS Society in a bid to recoup some of the losses.

Doors open at 7.30pm with the first race at 8pm. No ticket necessary but patrons will be asked to make a small donation at the door.

A spokeswoman for Irvine Police Office said: “We can confirm that we are following a positive line of enquiry in regards to the theft of a charity tin from Home in Main Street, Kilwinning.”