Metal thieves have been branded sick for stealing copper piping from the back of an Oxford charity shop.

It is the latest in a rash of raids targeting metal because of the spiralling value in scrap prices across the world.

Sharon Walton, manager of the Clic Sargent charity shop in London Road, Headington, discovered the copper water and waste pipes missing from the back of the store on Wednesday morning.

Miss Walton said: "This is a charity shop that is trying to raise money for children with cancer and some sick thieving person goes and does this - it is disgusting.

"We have had problems with people taking stuff from our bins in the past and stealing donations, but this is taking things too far.

"The charity will now have to pay money out of its pocket to repair this.

"That is money that could have helped someone who really needed it."

The charity shop manager said she only discovered the missing pipes after noticing a sewage smell.

She said: "I had just flushed the toilet and went outside to put out some rubbish in the bins.

"I noticed a really bad smell and I looked around and saw water pouring down the side of the wall.

"I looked at it and saw that someone had sawn the pipe away where it came out the wall. When I looked around, I realised that all the copper pipes had been taken."

Miss Walton said she believed the thieves had got away with several hundred pounds worth of copper. The pipes would be replaced with plastic.

There have been other reports of metal thefts and attempted metal thefts in the area in the last few days.

It follows a string of incidents across the county where road signs and railway cable have been stolen.

Between Sunday and Wednesday last week, eight square feet of lead flashing was stolen from the telephone exchange in London Road, Headington.

Police were also called out at 11.36pm on Wednesday, May 28, after receiving reports people were trying to steal the gates from the front of Bury Knowle Park in London Road.

It is thought rising demand for metal in China and the Far East is pushing up the prices of scrap.

The price of a tonne of lead has risen from £150 to almost £1,000 over the past 12 months.

A tonne of copper, which was worth less than £2,000 a year ago, can net a criminal up to £5,000.

A police spokesman said: "Theft of metal is not just an increasing problem in Oxfordshire, but is happening at a national level.

"We are working hard to catch those responsible.

"If any members of the public see people in suspicious or unusual circumstances carrying out work on properties or roof tops, then they could be interfering with lead or metal piping."