An Oxford hospice is in 'total disarray' after burglars broke into its warehouse at Witney and stole a collections van.

The thieves caused thousands of pounds worth of damage at the Sobell House charity warehouse, and took the £100 float from the till.

The thieves also took one of the charity's two vans vital for collecting and delivering items donated by the public.

The loss of the white Renault Master van, with the Sobell House name and logo on its sides, is "the biggest blow" - putting back fundraising by weeks, said trading manager Louise Musgrove.

"The van was fully booked for collections and deliveries for the next month and not being able to carry out these appointments means the loss of much-needed revenue for the hospice," Ms Musgrove told the Oxford Mail today.

"It will have a big effect on our operations.

"We are just hoping someone will spot it."

The break-in was discovered when staff arrived at the Station Lane industrial estate warehouse yesterdaytues morning. They found the internal doors kicked in, the external security door broken and CCTV system smashed.

The van, registration OV55 EXA, had been emptied of donated goods and used to steal two generators from Oakmont Ltd which was refurbishing a neighbouring industrial unit.

Manager John Chapman said: "We haven't lost much, but to go into a charity place like that is not playing the game."

The charity depends on donations, including gifts to its shops, for most of the £3m a year it needs to provide care at the hospice at the Churchill Hospital in Headington.

Van driver Eddie Fowler described the thieves as "mindless".

"We're a big charity for the people of Oxfordshire, but we're in limbo because of this," he said.

"We're now in total disarray because we don't know when, or if, the van's going to come back. We've had to cancel everything for the next three weeks. It will take that long to sort out the insurance."

The Witney warehouse is one of two - the other is in Oxford - served by two vans which deal with bigger donated items, like furniture, as well as storing and delivering smaller goods to the chairty's string of shops in the county.

Anyone who sees the van is asked to get in touch with the charity on 01865 857007. Police were called out yesterday morning to investigate both raids on the Station Lane estate.

In June 2006 Sobell House's charity shop in Langdale Court, Witney, was gutted in an arson attack. The charity was moved into a temporary shop in Corn Street for six months before the rebuilt store was reopened by Witney MP David Cameron.