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Elizabeth Coombe (42) of no fixed abode used a sledgehammer to break through the fire door at the shop in Crowland Road, Eye, on August 11 last year.

She then broke into an office and used the sledgehammer to break open the safe and take the cash.

Shop workers also discovered the jewellery display cabinets had been opened with a key and items worth about £40 taken.

A blue latex glove was found in the menswear area of the store and was sent away for testing. Coombe’s DNA was recovered from the glove, linking her to the crime.

Coombe pleaded guilty to burglary and was handed a 16 month sentence, suspended for 18 months, at Peterborough Crown Court on Thursday (March 21). She was also ordered to complete 140 hours of unpaid work.

PC Sarah Morgan, who investigated, said: “Coombe showed a total lack of remorse for her crime. She not only took money donated to help bereaved families, but caused substantial damage to the building in the process.”

The shop in Eye supports the Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice in Longthorpe which cares for people with living with conditions like cancer, heart failure and lung disease.

Peterborough Sue Ryder charity thief showed ‘total lack of remorse’ after stealing money for bereaved families