THIEVES broke into a Salisbury pub, stealing the cash register, bottles of whisky and the charity jar.

The burglars prized open the back door of the Queen’s Arms in Ivy Street and stole £250 cash, ten bottles of premium malt whiskey and a jar collecting money for Troop Aid, a charity set up by three former servicemen to help injured soldiers.

Landlord Neil Evans said it was the first time in 12 years of running the pub that he had experienced a burglary.

He said: “The cash register was worth over £1,000 and they set fire to it to get rid of the finger prints – it was found in St Martin’s Churchyard. The police have recovered a small amount of money and the keys to the till.

“The charity jar was in the shape of a brown owl – it had about £30 in but they probably didn’t know it was a charity jar.”

The break in happened sometime between 11.15pm and 1am on Monday morning. Anyone with information is asked to call DS Nigel Porter at the Salisbury Priority Crime Team on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.