The people who left a bag of unwanted clothing outside the Sobell House Hospice shop no doubt did so with the charity's best interests at heart.

In fact, they have unwittingly contributed to a crime which may have lost it thousands in income. Vandals set fire to the bag and flames quickly spread inside the shop and to neighbouring premises in Witney.

As we have said many times before, it is impossible to understand the mentality of arsonists. Anyone with an ounce of sense must realise that by igniting a bag of clothing so near a shop, you run the risk of destroying the shop as well.

Clearly the perpetrators in this case are so thick and thoughtless that they didn't consider the consequences. It was an evil act.

All incidents of arson are deplorable, and Witney has suffered badly recently the former Springfield School was targeted last week. Sobell House, which relies heavily on the support of volunteers, given the financial difficulties in the health service, does much good work, looking after severely ill patients.

It can ill afford to lose money in this way.

We hope anyone with information about the identity of those responsible for the arson attack will come forward. The culprits need to be caught before they cause more devastation.

Meanwhile, the incident should serve as a warning to wellwishers not to leave donated items unattended outside such shops.

A sign outside urged people not to do so, but was clearly ignored. Hand them in personally, don't dump them at the door.