A LEADING charity being plagued by thieves has issued an alert after one of its workers confronted a criminal she caught red-handed with bags of stolen donations.

The Darlington-based Great North Air Ambulance (GNAA) has today moved to launch a campaign aimed at pricking the consciences of thieves after its sales manager Clare Crabtree spotted a man picking up second-hand clothes bags marked up for the charity's recycling scheme while on her morning commute.

The scale of the damage caused by thefts of doorstep clothing donation bags to the charity amounts to thousands of pounds every week, and its bosses said they were receiving calls from outraged donors on a daily basis.

They warned it was believed other charities in the region were also being targeted by unscrupulous criminals.

The GNAAS is entirely reliant on donations from the public and needs to raise around £5m a year to keep its three air ambulance helicopters ready to react to emergencies in the North-East, North Yorkshire and Cumbria.

Ms Crabtree, who has worked at the charity's Newton Aycliffe base for 14 years, was travelling through Stanley Crook, near Crook, at about 8am last Tuesday when she saw the man put the clothes into a hire van.

"I stopped the car and told my little girl to wait," the 38-year-old mother said. "I told him to give them back and gave him a bit of a lecture.

"He was like a rabbit in the headlights. I asked him to look in the back of the van and he said no at first and blocked it off, but then he did."

When the thief opened the van doors he revealed a pile of bags worth up to an estimated £250. Ms Crabtree then ordered him to unload the bags, which were later found to weigh 200 kilos.

She said: "I asked him what he got from taking from a charity and if he realised how much money it takes away from us. This isn't just a job, it's personal."

Durham Police confirmed they received a call at 8am on Tuesday regarding the incident were investigating.

The move follows police advising the team at Darlington’s Guru Boutique in March to take down a rail outside the store offering free coats to those in need after thieves ignored a sign saying ‘If you need a coat, take one’, instead filling carrier bags and making off with several at a time.

According to GNAA staff, while thousands of fundraisers across the region are going to enormous lengths to boost the charity's coffers, thousands of pounds are being lost a week as a result of the snatched donations, a scheme which has helped raise millions of pounds for the life-saving service over the years.

Ms Crabtree, of Sunniside, near Tow Low, said: "It's disheartening. We've got people putting the bags out and we've all got the same interests at heart."

GNAAS spokesman Jim Entwistle said: "We're all really proud of Clare and think it shows how much people here care about what they do and what they are working towards which is keeping the helicopter flying."

Donated bags are sold on to second-hand clothing companies, mostly in Eastern Europe, providing a vital source of income for the charity. One hundred per cent of profits generated from this recycling activity goes straight back to the charity, and GNAA bosses said it meant people across the region "are able to make a difference and support the service in a convenient and environmentally-friendly way".

The charity said it had become clear its finances were being adversely affected by the thefts and said it was believed other charities operating similar schemes were being affected.

"It's difficult to know how widespread the issue is, but this suggests it's significant enough," said Mr Entwistle. "That was only a small amount, but that would otherwise be spent on life-saving care.

"I don't think it's just us that are targeted. There are unscrupulous people filling their cars with whatever bags that are there."

He added donors should not worry about handing over clothing, but appealed to the public to "keep an eye out".