Diane Rowarth, chief officer of the York Blind and Partially Sighted Society, is joined by one of the society’s pink elephant mascots as it launches a hunt for missing collection boxes.

Over time, some of the boxes have gone missing, which means the society is losing out on valuable income.

Now the charity is asking York residents to help it find the missing elephants.

The elephants could be hiding in stock rooms, under counters or in staff rooms.

Diane said: “We are really grateful to our volunteer pink-elephant handlers and adoptive families for looking after our elephants.

“This year, more than £1,500 was donated in the elephants to help local blind and partially sighted people – but we really need to increase that by as much as we can. Please, if you are anywhere near a pink elephant – do feed it if you can.”

Anyone who knows the whereabouts of a missing elephant should phone the society on 01904 636269.