CHARITY staff are appealing for the return of a video camera which went missing during a visit to Durham City.

Staff from the mental health charity Mind lost the Sony Handycam DCR-DVD9 after travelling from London to present a £13,000 grant to Finchale Training College under the Ecominds scheme.

After presenting the grant, staff from the charity’s media team had lunch outside The Boathouse in the city at noon, but left behind a bag containing the camera.

When they returned moments later, it had gone. The bag, with its distinctive Mind logos, was handed in later that day, but the camera was missing.

A spokesman for the charity said: "It is very important that we get the video camera back, as it contains important footage about the Ecominds-funded projects.

"Plus, as a charity, it is very difficult for us to obtain the funding to replace expensive equipment."

The charity recently gave £1m to nine eco-projects around the UK, including Finchale Training College, and still has a further £6m left to hand out, with the footage on the camera used to raise awareness of how projects can apply for grants.

If anyone mistakenly picked up the bag, or saw anybody with it, they are asked to ring the Mind Media Team on 020 8522 1743.