A Wrexham man is donating money to St Giles church after a money box containing hundreds of pounds was stolen.

Brian Roberts decided to donate £400, the same amount that was stolen from St Giles Church in Wrexham, after finding out about the 'disgusting' crime.

The money he donated is in memory of his identical twin brother, Steven, who sadly passed away in early October of this year following a long battle with cancer.

The Leader: Steven Roberts (left) and Brian Roberts (right) standing either side of Joe Longthorne, a singer Steven Roberts (left) and Brian Roberts (right) standing either side of Joe Longthorne, a singer

As a thanks the church has organised for Sinfonia, a North Wales based Orchestra, to dedicate a piece to Brian's brother, Steven, in their performance at the church sometime next year.

He has also donated money to Hope House and says he donates to charity when he can.

The money was stolen at the end of November, following the orchestra's 10th anniversary concert in the church.

It also marked NEW Sinfonia becoming a registered charity after drawing up an ambitious blueprint of community events and workshops to spread the joy of music further.

The night of the cashbox theft saw them perform with the Chester DeeSign choir at a concert titled ‘Angels Sign and Sing’, so called because it coincided with the current Festival of Angels which has been delighting visitors to St Giles.

Brian added: "There's enough going on in the world as it is without people having to stoop that low to steal from a church, a place of worship. As soon as I saw it, I thought 'oh I'm going to give them back that money that they've had stolen out of my own pocket'."

Brian describes his brother as his "rock" and has been hit hard by the loss.

He added: "I was devastated, I still am now but I can talk a little bit about it now, more than what I could.

"It makes me feel good that I'm doing it for my brother and not only doing it for my brother, I'm doing it for the Parish Church, and you know something good needs to come out of this and I think it will be.

"My brother loved the Parish Church we used to go there on midnight mass and everything. The last three years we went there to pray that he could carry on living his life."

Bosses at Pendine Park were also horrified by the shocking theft at St Giles’ Parish Church that they have reimbursed the Wrexham and St Asaph based NEW Sinfonia for the full amount.

The money was donated via the Pendine Arts and Community Trust (PACT), which more than 30 supports arts and community-based activities across Wales.

The trust also gave a further £250 to St Giles’ Parish Church towards its community work.

The Rev Dr Jason Bray, vicar of St Giles, said the festival had touched many hearts and provoked magnificent feedback from the local community.

He said: “Many spirits have been lifted by what has been achieved here with the festival and the Angels Sign and Sing concert which created such a wonderful feelgood factor.

“It is hard to think that amidst all that positivity such a contemptible act could have taken place. It is not just the financial loss which is so upsetting but the violation of the sanctity of the church.”

The Rev Dr Bray thanked Pendine Park and other community members who had supported the church and NEW Sinfonia in the wake of the theft.

He said: “This money will be a big help with the outreach work which we do around Wrexham, particularly helping less fortunate members of our community.”