Honesty box baker angry after cake theft

A baker who set up an honesty box cake stall says she is "mad and disappointed" after a thief made off with half her stock without leaving any money.

Sabina Seidel, 39, started the Treat Street Bake Shed on Priory Road, Spalding, at the end of March, filling it with a variety of homemade cakes and cookies for people to buy.

Seidel said the man took about 25 items, including blondies and cookies, without paying.

The theft, on Saturday evening, has been reported to Lincolnshire Police, but Seidel said: "I'm not going to let one person ruin it."

Doorbell footage showed the man helping himself to a variety of items.

"He also tried to tamper with the cash box and see if he could get inside that," she said.

In the footage, Seidel can be seen thanking the man for his custom before realising he had left without paying.

She said he took items worth about £80 in total.

"I was really mad. It wasn't about the money, it was about my time and effort," she said.

Seidel's cake shed is open Friday to Monday every week and operates using an honesty system, with customers paying by cash or scanning a QR code for card payments.

Marie Taylor, 35, from Holbeach, said the theft was "completely terrible".

She said: "No respect for neighbours, no respect for the community and I just think, why would you?

"At the end of the day, it's really not nice."

Brian Whatford, 66, from Spalding, said: "Obviously a lot of time and work goes into it and nobody deserves that."

Honesty boxes have long been a part of rural communites and many have moved with the times by offering digital payments. However, thefts have been a recurring issue.

In 2024, the community rallied round to raise money for a farmer when more than 200 bags of potatoes were stolen from his honesty stall at Anton's Gowt, near Boston.

Lincolnshire Police confirmed it was investigating a report of cakes and cookies being stolen from the stall in Spalding between 19:25 and 20:00 BST on Saturday.

A spokesperson said no arrests had been made.

Seidel, a keen baker, said the incident would not deter her and she was hoping to expand her shed in the future.

"I'm trying to do something nice and the feedback and response has been amazing," she added.

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