Thief jailed after stealing funeral donation collection from Northampton pub

A man has been jailed after stealing a collection from a Northampton pub that was earmarked for a funeral donation.

Robert William Mort, of Shakespeare Road was jailed for 16 weeks during a hearing at Northampton Magistrates Court on July 1.

The 36-year-old stole a collection tin containing £255 from The Bear pub in Sheep Street on June 22 at around 10.20am after he waited for the member of staff to go to the toilet.

Magistrates also ordered Mort to pay £255 in compensation.

Daniel Chilvers runs The Bear in Sheep Street with his wife, Jade. The couple started a collection to send flowers and a charitable donation to the funeral of a former “well-known” and “well-respected” landlady - Molly Fowley, who ran pubs around Northampton.

Following the theft, Dan and Jade decided to, personally, pay for flowers.

The landlord says he was reluctant to tell the customers what happened, but once they did “they came out in force” to start raffles and other fundraising activities to raise more money. They have already raised more than £300.

He said: “The money will all go to Marie Curie, because at the end of the day, that is who he stole from.

“We are aiming for £1,000 as that is four times what was stolen and a nice, round number.

“We’ve managed to put a positive spin on a negative.”

He also said the compensation will be paid to the charity.

Dan was keen to thank Northamptonshire Police. He says the officer involved went “above and beyond”.