UNSCRUPULOUS conmen are stealing clothes from Dorset doorsteps as part of a widespread scam that costs charities millions of pounds per year.

The practice involves companies putting leaflets through letterboxes, suggesting they are charities in order to collect unwanted clothes which are then sold for profit abroad.

But new evidence has shown these companies are going a step further and actually stealing bags intended for legitimate charities such as Great Ormond Street Hospital and Scope.

GMTV yesterday featured a group of Lithuanians collecting clothes in Bournemouth whose vans contained bags from a variety of charities, including Marie Curie Cancer Care.

The Association of Charity Shops estimates the practice is costing the sector upwards of £2 million per year.

Ivan Hancock, of Dorset Trading Standards, said: "We've had several reports of people leaving clothes for charities which are then nicked off the doorstep, but it's very difficult to substantiate."

These companies usually stay within the law with careful wording such as: "Donate your clothes for poor people in Eastern Europe".

The Charity Commission still considers this misleading because residents do not realise a profit is being made.

"If they just say the clothes are going to a good cause', then they are not breaking the law," explains Andy Sherriff, of Bournemouth Trading Standards.

"But if they are now stealing clothes from other charities then it becomes a police matter."

Ken Blair, chief executive for British Heart Foundation Shops, spoke for several charities when he said: "We have received increased reports of bogus charity collectors unlawfully taking BHF donations.

"Our shops rely on these donations and we would ask the public to be vigilant when leaving goods on their doorsteps."

A new Fraud Act, brought in this year, gives a bit more scope to take action against misleading information.

But these companies often appear and disappear quickly without leaving a paper trail.

Mr Sherriff said: "There is no evidence the proceeds go to crime, but these organisations come and go quickly, profess to have a charitable aim and yet don't register or file accounts, so you can draw your own conclusion.

"Our advice is to support the causes you know and not assume anything. If they are a legitimate charity, they should be able to prove it."