THE organiser of a Haslemere event, in aid of a children's cancer charity, is outraged after two banners advertising the special event were removed within hours of being erected. Sara-Jane Gray who had received permission to erect the six foot by two foot banners, from both Haslemere Town Council and Waverley Borough Council, secured one of the professionally designed and printed banners on a fence at the children's play area on Lion Green and another on the railings by the Hindhead traffic lights. She branded the loss of the banners as "wanton vandalism and theft". The banners were advertising the 'Yummy Mummy Ball' being held in aid of the highly regarded children's cancer charity CLIC Sargent. Erected two weeks ago on the condition that they were moved to a different site every 48 hours, Mrs Gray said the banners disappeared in less than 18 hours. "I am disappointed that some small-minded person has taken it upon themselves to remove, and steal the two banners," said Mrs Gray. "They were professionally produced and securely put in place to ensure they were informative, but in no way an eyesore," said Mrs Gray in a letter to the Herald this week. "The ball is not making any profit for the local businesses supporting it – on the contrary, it is being heavily sponsored to ensure as much money as possible goes to the charity, and the person or persons responsible for removing the banners has lost the charity £66 that it has cost to replace them." She declared: "If someone feels so strongly that a banner is inappropriate, they could have rung the number clearly displayed, to request its removal?" Mrs Gray has a heartfelt message for whoever removed the banners: "I challenge you now, if you have good reason to remove advertising that will benefit children suffering from a terrible disease, then please share it with us, because right now I see it as wanton vandalism and theft. "It has made me so cross, I can't believe someone could be that petty," said Mrs Gray – who has also decided to run the London Marathon for the CLIC Sargent children's cancer charity, after losing her father to the disease last year. Mrs Gray has now been given permission to erect the one remaining banner outside the Georgian House Hotel where the event is being staged on Saturday, September 20, as part of the Haslemere Food Festival. Details and Tickets are available from http://www.haslemere.com/yummymummy">www.haslemere.com/yummymummy or will be sold at the Haslemere farmers' market on Sunday, August 3.