The sculpture called Romeo and Juliet was taken from the Iona House Gallery in Woodstock on Wednesday afternoon.

Iona House is believed to be the only charity art in the country and supports a home in Romania for children with HIV.

The charity described the theft as a massive setback as it must now reimburse the artist for the loss of the 12-inch sculpture.

'Real blow'

A spokeswoman for the charity said: "The works of art aren't donated - so we will now have to pay for the whole value of the piece.

"Charities struggle enough but to lose something of this value is a real blow.

"It's a lot of money for us and it's money that should be going to the children in Romania."

The piece is by Robert Belderson who has sold work at Christies.