FORCES Sweetheart Dame Vera Lynn today condemned the "light" sentence on a 13-year-old boy who stole a Poppy Appeal tin.

Mid Sussex magistrates ordered him to repay £30 to the Royal British Legion and to spend 16 hours at an attendance centre to receive physical and psychological support.

But Dame Vera, who lives at Ditchling, told the Argus: "The sentence does seem pretty light. To do a thing like that is far worse than ordinary stealing.

"He should be taken around to see some of the homes where these ex-Servicemen live, to be educated on what these chaps are going through now and the sacrifices they made.

"Children don't realise what these boys went through. It was only at the time of the VE-Day celebrations that some of the schools decided to give children an education on what the Second World War was all about."

Dick Beard, secretary of the Mid Sussex branch of the Royal Sussex Regimental Association, said: "It's not a deterrent to people like this. They walk out of court, laugh and are little heroes to their friends."

Louise Inward, prosecuting at Haywards Heath, said a Legion collecting tin and poppies had been left in the lounge at Marten House, sheltered accommodation in The Brow, Burgess Hill.

But the tin, containing an estimated £30, disappeared some time on November 4 or 5.

Police believed the incident might be linked to other thefts at Marten House, including money left for the milkman. So they left envelopes out in a bid to catch the thief.

Miss Inward said police caught the boy leaving the building with the envelopes and money.

The boy, who is legally too young to be named, admitted stealing the charity box and money in the envelopes.

He also asked for 84 other offences to be considered.

Twelve of these involved the theft of £17.40 from residents at Marten House. The other 72 were the theft of confectionery from Budgen, Hassocks. Ian Elkins, defending, admitted the offences

at Marten House were

"particularly mean and nasty".

He said the boy now knew how people felt about his crimes because it had been drummed into him by his mother, who was "at the end of her tether".

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.