A man mourning the death of his wife from cancer has described thieves who stole a cancer charity box from his house as "callous and disgusting".

Every Christmas Tony Parson, 53, of Masefield Road, Braintree, illuminates his house with hundreds of fairy lights.

This year he assembled a seasonal display of 2,747 lights, attracting people from all over Essex.

In June, Mr Parson lost his wife Hilary after a battle against cancer.

He placed a donation box in her memory outside his house and all money was to go to the Mary Baron Suite, a cancer care unit at Colchester General Hospital where his wife was an outpatient.

Mr Parson said: "It's disgusting someone would take the box, there's a big sign saying it's for charity. Whoever took this is callous and I hope they're happy."

He said he was prepared to take the matter to court but if the box was returned intact he could be prepared to "let it slide".

He can be contacted on 01376 345420 between 4pm and 7pm.

A spokesman for Braintree Police said the theft was a "distressing incident" and are appealing for information on 01376 551312

Victim - Tony Parson outside his house.

Picture: ADRIAN RUSHTON

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