Thieves steal children’s biscuits from mother's doorstep
A Birmingham city councillor says she is "livid" after a care package she left at the door of a single mother was stolen in the time it took her to walk back to her car.
Councillor Nicky Brennan runs the Brum Baby Bank, was visiting Selly Oak to deliver goods to a single-mother-of-three when the theft took place.
But after leaving a bag including children’s biscuits and a tin opener on her front doorstep, Councillor Brennan says that the goods had been stolen before she had even returned to her car.
“I’m absolutely livid,” she says.
“So there’s a mum, a single mum, she’s got three kids under the age of five, and she’s a regular on our baby bank delivery.
“And she just seemed a bit vulnerable, so we reached out and asked if there was anything else she needs, and she just wanted a tin opener. So we got her a tin opener and I put a load of teddy bear biscuits in there and another couple of bits, spent about £4.50.
“I put it out on her doorstep, knocked on the door, text her to tell her it was on her doorstep – cause that’s what we do – and by the time I got back in the car somebody had pulled up in a van, taken the bag and drove off.
“I’m really angry about it. Biscuits from kids.”
Councillor Brennan was one of the people responsible for the founding of the Brum Baby Bank, which asks for cash donations to help pay for goods for the poorest families. Donors are also asked to provide nappies, formula milk, baby food and wipes.
And she says incidents like this are really shocking at a time when the majority of people are going out of their way to help others.
“I’ve heard about Amazon deliveries going missing, and I don’t know if some people are just driving around, seeing what they can see, and then taking advantage of it. They probably didn’t realise what they were taking, they’ve just seen an opportunity and taken it, but they’ve literally taken sweets from kids.
“There’s so much goodwill and trust and community spirit, and loads of people are leaving stuff on doorsteps at the moment. But obviously some people are exploiting it.
“Well I hope they enjoyed their teddy bear biscuits.
“And she feels terrible, this mum. She’s in a really vulnerable position, three kids on lockdown under the age of five. We’ve tried to make her life better, just with some small things, and this has ruined it. So I will be dropping her some more stuff probably tomorrow now.
“People should probably be aware of this, though. If it’s happened here it could happen elsewhere.”
