A Dublin charity has said it is "devasted" after Christmas gifts for people in need were stolen from its van this morning.
The Liberty Soup Run has been collecting gifts for people who are homeless in recent days.
The van used to collect the presents was broken into in the early hours of this morning in Fatima.
Dozens of shoeboxes containing items donated by people were taken, as well as clothes and electrical items.
In a post on Facebook, the charity said "people made these for us and it breaks my heart to say someone has robbed them”.
Volunteers are now appealing for people to donate gifts to replace those that were stolen.
Fran Dempsey from Liberty Soup Run told Lunchtime Live how everyone volunteering there was "devastated" over the theft.
He said: "We were after picking up a lot of shoeboxes and a few toys, we help the homeless and people in need and we were after doing over 200 hampers this year for Christmas.
"We were picking up a few things from people who had donated but we don't have a lot of storage space so we leave a lot of stuff in the van.
"It's been safe so far but unfortunately during the early hours of the last night, a lot of the stuff was taken out of the van and the van was broken into.
"It's horrible really, we can't understand it."
The shoeboxes generally contain gloves, hats and toiletries, while other items in the van included new clothes and toys, as well as a new Xbox.
Fran said the charity was heartbroken at the "madness" of people taking the presents for people in need.
He said: "We just can't get over it because there's a sign on the window saying Liberty Soup Run, please help the Liberty Soup Run, they knew what the van was.
"It's just really devastating, we can't get over it, we're going a year now and this has never happened.
He added that the incident has been reported to the Gardaí.
Fran is appealing for people to donate gifts to the Liberty Soup Run to help people in need this Christmas.
People wishing to donate can contact the charity by calling Fran (085 8351565), Chris (085 8246982) or Eoin (085 1344858).
