PERHAPS it shows how low our expectations have sunk, but you could almost write off the theft of a charity box as the work of an opportunistic idiot.

Maybe drink was involved, maybe a moment of opportunity, maybe it was just too tempting and there was no realisation at the time how despicable the theft of charity funds is.

But the theft of three guide dog collection boxes from train stations in the north of the county shows a clear plan.

These things aren’t just little pots on a shop counter. They measure three feet high and are effectively statues.

To be blunt, swiping them from a train station takes a lot of front.

Yet it also takes a lot of stupidity because, as our picture today shows, the toerag was caught on CCTV.

There can be no excuse from this thief or pleading that he was ignorant that it was for the blind, once he is collared. So we hope our readers help identify him as quickly as possible.

Hopefully it may fittingly mean that a guide dog’s cousin, employed by the police, clamps the jaws of justice around him when he is apprehended.