A "scary" thief in a Halloween mask has left a 12-year-old boy heartbroken after stealing from his Redditch foodbank just days before his birthday.

The shed at Greenlands, which is part of the Friends of Isaac’s Food Bank, was broken into during the early hours of Monday (October 2) by a man wearing a "creepy" panda mask.

The suspect took about £40 worth of food leaving the shelves bare and the founder of the project, Isaac Winfield, devastated.

Redditch Advertiser: The burglary happened just days before the founder, Isaac Winfield, was due to celebrate his 12th birthday The burglary happened just days before the founder, Isaac Winfield, was due to celebrate his 12th birthday (Image: Friends of Isaac's Food Bank)

Isaac’s mum and director of the company, Claire Chapman, said: “When I realised what had happened, I dropped everything. When I first looked at the CCTV, I thought it was Mickey Mouse in the shed, but when he turned around, it was this grotesque and creepy panda Halloween mask.

“Isaac is absolutely crushed. It’s his 12th birthday on Wednesday and all he asked for was a van full of food so he could continue giving back to the community.

“We spread the word on social media, and we’ve had donations from all over the world, so he was really excited. It’s just so wicked that someone could do this.”

Redditch Advertiser: The shelves in the food shed were ransacked leaving them almost bare The shelves in the food shed were ransacked leaving them almost bare (Image: Friends of Isaac's Food Bank)

The Greenlands food bank shed is located on the family drive making the ordeal even more frightening.

Ms Chapman said the CCTV showed the thief making two trips into the shed filling up bags of food and hanging around the family home for around 40 minutes.

Ms Chapman said: “This was an invasion of my home that’s left me feeling so vulnerable especially as Isaac could have woken up in the middle of the night and seen this scary man walking around the house.

“Isaac is an incredible boy who has overcome so much so to see this happen is just heartbreaking. He has made 4,000 food parcels already this year and the work the food bank does is so vital for the community.

“We work with families who spend each day counting the pennies. We’re a lifeline and this will have a long-term impact as it will set us back in terms of opening more sites for the community.” 

Redditch Advertiser: The organisation is urging people to come forward with informationThe organisation is urging people to come forward with information (Image: Friends of Isaac's Food Bank)

The incident comes after another shed owned by Friends of Isaac’s Food Bank at Moons Moat was also broken into between late Saturday night and early Sunday morning.

The organisation is urging anyone with information to come forward and help bring justice for the food bank and the families that rely on its services.

A spokesperson for West Mercia police said: “We received a report around 5:55pm on Monday evening (2 October) about a burglary at Greenlands Foodbank on Throckmorton Road in Redditch.

“Officers attended the property to find food items had been taken.

“Officers are now investigating and anybody with any information is asked to contact PC Merritt by email ricky.merritt@westmercia.pnn.police.uk or by calling 07890390745.”