Vegas-style showgirl costumes stolen from Continental Circus Berlin's big top in Preston Park, Brighton.

Two of the Vegas-style costumes, pictured, were stolen

Continental Circus Berlin said two costumes, including head dresses and feather-boers, went missing either late night Saturday or the early hours of Sunday morning. The circus staff realised the outfits had been stolen when they did their morning checks.

General manager David Fitzgerald said: "The entertainment industry has had such a hard time of it in the last 18th months, I can't believe people would be so callous as to just break into our premises and steal costumes.

"They are probably no value to the person who stole them, they could hardly walk up and down London Road in them, the theft was purely malicious."

The costumes are worth around £3,000, the circus said, and are very hard to replace. The circus company said it was devastated by the theft and was desperate for the costumes to be returned. It said it was currently searching through CCTV footage from the café at Preston Park and had reported the incident to the police.

A Sussex Police spokesman said: "Police received report that a leather jacket and feathers were stolen from the Continental Circus Berlin in Preston Park at 12.30pm on Sunday (20 June). Anyone with information can report online or call 101, quoting 623 of 20/06."

The circus runs until June 23.