A fundraiser whose parents died from cancer has criticised thieves who steal charity collection boxes.

Andrew Holding, 29, of Church Close, South Hinksey, near Oxford, devotes his spare time to collecting for Marie Curie Cancer Care, which funds research into the disease and provides support for sufferers.

He lost his father, Clive, to cancer of the spine in 1996 when he was 48. His mother, Christine, was also 48 when she died of bowel cancer last year.

Marie Curie Cancer Care sent a nurse to help care for his mother in her last weeks and he has helped raise funds for the charity ever since.

He has held collections outside supermarkets and spent Christmas climbing four mountains in Austria to raise funds.

Last week he was shocked to find that a collection box he left on the bar of his local pub, the General Elliott, in Manor Road, had been stolen.

He said: "I think it's the lowest of the low. It's a dreadful thing to do and I personally find it very upsetting.

"It is just so frustrating. We put a lot of work into this."

He added: "If they could see children suffering from cancer in hospital I don't think they would be so ready to steal those boxes."

Val Pearce, the area fundraiser for Marie Curie Cancer Care, said that six boxes had been taken this year.

She said: "Thieves seem to think it's just easy pickings unfortunately and it happens all too frequently."