A FIREFIGHTER who was raising money for an armed forces charity had £350 of it stolen in a smash-and-grab at his home.

Thomas Hearn from Cowley, who is raising money for the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA), discovered he had been burgled after getting home from a night away.

The 33-year-old, who is a repayment project engineer at BT Openreach by day and an on-call Oxfordshire firefighter by night, raised £450 for his sponsored mountain climb later this year, but £350 of it has been stolen.

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He said: “When I saw the money had been stolen and the French doors had been smashed I was shocked.

"It was so disheartening as I had been making a real push that week to get people to sponsor me and now I have to start again.”

Mr Hearn also found electrical items such as his Playstation and camera had been stolen.

Oxford Mail:

The burglary, which the police say was a ‘smash-and-grab’, happened sometime overnight on Friday, February 15.

He said: “The police told me the burglars were looking for easy items to take.

"I left my car but the burglars didn’t take my keys which they would have walked past”

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Mr Hearn is doing a sponsored climb in September at Mount Toubkal in Morocco after finding out about it at BT Openreach, which supports SSAFA.

He needs to raise £2,000 to do the 4,167m climb in honour of several people close to him who have served in the forces, including his grandfather in the Second World War, his father and his best friend.

He said: “I have seen clearly how serving in the armed forces affects people and their families. The charity does a great job with things like counselling and I want to help.

“The climb is higher than I thought it was when I signed up and I have never done anything like this before, so it will also be a great personal challenge for me too.”

The firefighter, who is based at Slade Park Fire Station, has been struggling to train for the climb since the burglary as he does not want to leave his home for long periods of time until it is secured again.

You can donate through Mr Hearn's page at ssafa-openreach.charitycheckout.co.uk/pf/hearn

Donation pots are at the Post Office in Headington and at Bunny's sandwich shop in Wilkins Road, Cowley.