TWO young sisters are heartbroken after money they raised by selling toys outside their home was nicked from an honesty box.

Eva Ware, seven, and sibling Olivia, five, had spent time during lockdown clearing out unwanted items and decided to flog them from the kerb.

They left the objects including two new sleeping bags, toys, puzzles and books - in front of their house along with a pot for cash and a sign.

But the girls were devastated to find that some of the goods had disappeared when they went to check later the same day.

The money jar was also empty following the theft on July 19 incident - where it emerged that one person confirmed they had left coins.

Kim, 35, of Clevedon, Somerset, said: "We had a bit of a clear-out, but the charity shops were shut.

"I said to the girls that we could put a pot out and raise some money for charity. This was on the Sunday.

"We then went out to have a look at around 5pm. There was no money there and most of the stuff was gone.

"We were obviously a little bit disappointed.

"So I decided to post on Facebook, saying how I felt about the people of Clevedon. People were commenting, saying how bad it was.

"But then a lady said she had put £3 in the pot for a Nerf Gun and that there was already money in there.

"That made me think that people had actually made donations for the items but the money had been stolen.

"To think someone may have come along and stolen it - it's really bad."

Kim was then forced to tell Eva and Olivia about what had happened.

But, before long, local people began to show their good side - pledging to help the family out and raised money for their chosen charities.

She said: "They were really upset. But, since then, people have been messaging to donate money.

"People have been messaging asking for the address and popping envelopes and cards with money through the door.

"It's showed the girls how nice loads of people are.

The youngsters now have around £150 in their jar - likely much more than they could have raised by selling the items.

Half will go to St Peter’s Hospice, which looked after their granddad who died earlier this year.

The other half will go to Weston Hospice, which looked after Kim’s best friend who died in 2017.

Kim added: "We can’t thank people enough."

She said she is not planning on reporting the theft to the police.

The shocking crime has echoes of a recent incident in Malvern, Worcs.

Harry Clare was left in tears after heartless thieves stole the entire contents of the honesty stall he runs at his parents' glamping site.

The five-year-old was left with just a table and a sign after callous crooks nicked all of his stock - worth £40.

Harry has since received donations and messages of support from hundreds of people - including television presenter Jeremy Clarkson.

The former 'Top Gear' host tweeted that he would "make good all that is lost" after hearing about the story - adding "let’s feed the thieves into a combine".

You can donate to the sisters' cause here:

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/skdiveformikedawesandstpetershospice.