BURGLARS spilled a man's ashes and stole money raised for a charity in his memory, when they broke into his mother's home.

John Causer was a supporter of The Prince's Trust and died in 2011 at the age of 22. His family set up the John Causer Trust in his honour, to help young people buy equipment or training to help them gain further education or job opportunities.

Last week, thieves broke into John's mother's home in Gate Helmsley and stole £300 that had been raised at a car boot sale, and spilled his ashes from their container during a search of the house.

John's sister Faye was visiting her mother's home and is thought to have disturbed the burglars, and said the family was heartbroken by the event.

Faye said: "I went to my mother's house on my lunch to walk her dog and police say they think I must have disturbed them because of the things they left behind. Police said this was the first burglary they've had in Gate Helmsley in ten years.

"They disturbed the ashes of my little brother, which is the most heartbreaking thing. They must have thought it was a jewellery box and it got strewn across the room when they realised."

The charity was set up to remember John, who Faye said "was a man you didn't meet every day", and many people had worked hard to raise the money.

She said: "No-one got up at the crack of dawn to do a car boot thinking it would end up in the pockets of thieves. It's heartbreaking to think it's not going to get to the kids it was intended to help.

"When you're talking about people like this you can't say I hope it hangs heavy on their morals, because they haven't got any. We just want something positive to come out of this so I hope we can replace the funds or maybe raise a little bit more."

Since the theft last Thursday, John's friend Rosanna Nicholson has set up a fundraising page to help replace the stolen money, with more than £400 already raised.

Faye said: "It bypassed me a bit. I woke up the next morning and it had started and there was money there. She was so upset about what had happened and wanted to help. That was nice to be able to show people cared."

A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said nobody had yet been arrested over the theft, but the investigation was ongoing.