Two callous female thieves have swiped a charity donations box from a grocery store which was raising money for life-saving river rescue volunteers.
While the cashier was distracted fetching a lighter, one of the women ripped out the chain attaching the tin to the counter and quickly slipped the container under her coat.
The shameless pair then strolled out of the Londis in Kentstown, County Meath, having successfully deprived the local charity of vital funds.
But their brazen theft last Sunday was captured on CCTV and, after being shared online, has sparked an outpouring of disgust.
The Garda - Irish police - have also seen the footage and are trying to track down the two women.
A woman slips a charity donations box under her coat after swiping it from the counter at a Londis in Kentstown, County Meath
The CCTV footage shows the two middle-aged women sidling up to the counter of the store.
Both are wearing thick, puffer-style coats, one grey and one blue.
The woman in the grey jacket, closest to the camera, pulls out a note and slides it across the counter and speaks to the male cashier.
As he turns to gather their items, the woman is seen eyeing up the red charity box which is raising money for the Meath River Rescue, a group of volunteer divers specialising in lake and river rescues.
She tentatively places two hands over the tin but appears to have second thoughts and quickly pulls back.
With her right elbow, she nudges her friend and gestures towards the box and mutters something under her breath.
The two women distract the cashier before muttering to each other as one gestures to the donations tin
After wrenching out the chain which fixed the tin to the counter, the woman quickly stuffs the box under her coat
The cashier then comes back to collect payment, and takes the note from the women.
With him distracted, the women seize their chance and the one in the grey clasps the box with both hands, but realises it's fixed to the counter with a chain.
So she grabs hold of the chain and rips it out before swiftly taking the tin and stuffing it under her jacket.
As the cashier returns, the woman carrying the tin quickly steps behind her friend to conceal the bulge protruding from her coat.
She then makes a sharpish beeline for the exit and is quickly followed by her accomplice.
Chairman of the Meath River Rescue Christopher Rennicks told the Meath Chronicle: 'It looks disgusting, it really does.
The thief then moves behind her accomplice to conceal the bulge of the tin under her jacket, before both beat a hasty exit
'The people of Kentstown have been so good to us with donations in the past and that tin would have been due to be collected, so it's a real blow. Hopefully the Gardai will be able to deal with the matter.'
A force spokeswoman said: 'Gardai is investigating a theft from a shop in Kentstown, Navan, Co. Meath, which occurred on Sunday, October 20, 2019.
'Two females entered a shop and stole property including a charity box and fled the scene on foot. No arrests have been made and investigations are ongoing.'
The video has been viewed over 400,000 times on social media, where people were appalled.
Anne Davidson fumed: 'Pond life. Hope they get caught.' While Chris Allan called it 'lower than a snake's belly'.
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