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| Jeff Palmer, a member of the South West Dalek Crew who are doing a charity trundle from Swindon to Cardiff |
MOST people would not be brave enough to steal from a Dalek.
But that is exactly what a gang of skateboarders did when they swiped a charity bucket from the South West Dalek Crew.
The members of the group were collecting for Marie Curie Cancer Care in Millennium Square, in Bristol, when the yobs struck at 2.30pm on Wednesday.
Jeff Palmer, 47, from Nythe, a South West Dalek Crew member, said: "We're all pretty cut up about this.
"It was obviously very opportunistic by the thieves and we're not happy about it.
"There's not much we could have done, as by the time we had realised it had been taken, they had legged it.
"People come and go all the time so it's hard to keep track. I can't see us getting it back."
Another member Dave Smith, 47, from Bristol, said: "I'd just popped into our bus to get the kids some squash, we'd parked the Daleks up against the side and people were having their photo taken with them.
"My son Jack, aged 13, and other members of the crew were standing nearby when a group of teenagers arrived on skateboards.
"They were gone in a flash, and the collection bucket had been pulled right off the Dalek's gun.
"It sickens me that someone can just steal something that doesn't belong to them, on a nice sunny day when we're all working hard and people have been so generous."
The crew are now on the fourth day of their journey from Swindon Railway Museum to the Marie Curie Hospice annual garden party in Penarth.
Jeff had not been part of the trip as he could not get time off work, but he is planning to join up with the team for the final fundraising leg tomorrow.
"I think it's about 106 miles we would have covered in total," he said. "I'll be driving to Newport for the final stage and then presenting the money to the Marie Curie staff."
They aim to raise between £5,000 and £10,000 for the cancer charity.
The three replica Daleks, built by the South West Dalek Crew and powered by wheelchair motors, have been invading the streets of Chippenham, Bath, Bristol and Newport.
As they trundle through the streets with their collection buckets they are exterminating passers-by with their water filled guns.
As well as Jeff and Dave the South West Dalek Crew includes Brian Jackson. They are all members of the Dalek Builders Guild and have been building Daleks out of MDF and fibreglass for five years.
They have planned their trundle to take a total of six days and are due to reach the Marie Curie Hospice in Penarth, near Cardiff tomorrow to join the Hospice annual garden party.
It is thought the skateboarders got away with between £30 and £40.
If anyone has any information about the theft, contact the Bristol Marie Curie Cancer Care fundraising office on 0117 924 7275.
7:23pm Thursday 2nd August 2007
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