A man who is terminally ill is appealing for his wife's bird baths after they were put in The Salvation Army collection by mistake.

John Brand, 84, and his wife, Denise Brand, 73, planned for their unwanted items to be collected by a volunteer on July 17.

During the collection, a volunteer asked John whether he could take the bird baths without a second opinion from his wife, Denise.

After telling his wife about the bird baths, Denise contacted the volunteer who agreed to return the items on Sunday, July 19.

It was later that day when the pair were contacted to say both 'bird baths had been stolen' from The front garden area of the Salvation Army Hall.

Salvation Army Carshalton, contacted the police this week.

Your Local Guardian:

Denise Brand said: "One bird bath was a grave marker for a tortoise and the other much-loved bird bath came with us when we moved here 33 years ago.

"It held many precious memories, especially of past much-loved cats playing around it and even sleeping in the bowl when it was dry.

"It has leaves and wild creatures around it.

"I had a place planned for it in our new garden for when we move.

"We do not want replacements.

"We want our much-loved bird bath returned to us.

"Please help find these bird baths."

A spokesperson for Met Police said: "On Tuesday, police received a report that two birdbaths had been stolen from an address in Green Wrythe Lane.

"Anyone with information can contact police on 101 or tweet @MetCC."

If you have any information regarding the bird baths, contact us at monica.charsley@newsquest.co.uk.