Hundreds of bras disappear from charity display

Hundreds of bras have gone missing from a charity display in West Yorkshire for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, according to organisers.

Pontefract and District Cancer Support Group hung hundreds of bras across the town to encourage people to check themselves for the signs of breast cancer.

However, organiser Rachel Brown said about 500 bras had gone missing from railings around Valley Gardens and Ropergate.

She said an alleged culprit had been seen on CCTV cutting down bras and taking them away, with their identity unknown.

"I don't know what on earth they're doing with the bras, I dread to think actually," she said.

"I would like this person to come forward so I can explain what it's all about."

Brown set up the support group after her own breast cancer diagnosis in 2014.

After a successful round of chemotherapy in 2015, she was "told to crack on with the rest of life" and "hit a brick wall".

It prompted her to set up the group for people who had experienced breast cancer to support each another.

They discovered the bras were missing on Wednesday morning, she said, with CCTV footage showing a person taking them down with scissors just after midnight.

"They have gone to do it on purpose – cut them down, left the tie wraps on the floor and put the bras in a carrier bag and scooted off through Valley Gardens," she said.

The annual bra display started last year, with the group of more than 500 women donating and receiving more than 1,000 bras.

Despite the setback, Brown said she "thanked the negativity" because it had raised more awareness.

"If one lady or one gent goes home and checks their breasts and finds a lump, we've helped that one person," she said.

"We're going to go and put more bras up and if they take them down, we'll keep doing it."

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.