Family who thought Christmas was ruined when burglars stole all their presents bar a box of Jaffa Cakes are overwhelmed after kind strangers fill their living room with gifts
- Suzie Purvis had kept presents in garage but they were missing on Christmas Eve
- Strangers sent toys, electronics, Xboxes, scooters and chocolates for her sons
- Mother-of-two will donate extras to food banks and children’s wards at hospitals
A family who thought Christmas had been ruined after burglars stole their presents have said they’re overwhelmed by the generosity of strangers who filled their living room with gifts.
Suzie Purvis, 27, from Hetton-le-Hole, was distraught when she discovered at 7pm on Christmas Eve that all the wrapped gifts had been taken from her garage.
However dozens of people sent replacements so that Theo, four, and Jude, two, could wake up surrounded by wonderful presents on Christmas morning.
Suzie Purvis, pictured with her sons Theo, four, and Jude, two, thought Christmas would be ruined when she discovered all the presents had been taken from her garage however kind strangers stepped in and donated gifts
Ms Purvis said her family went from heartbroken to completely overwhelmed and they had to tell kind strangers there was ‘no more room’ for the donations.
She said: ‘I can’t even begin to thank all those people who came forward and gave us presents.
‘We went from being heartbroken on Christmas Eve to absolutely overwhelmed the next morning.
‘People were sending us gifts all evening. It got to a point where I had to tell them there was no more room in my living room.’
Ms Purvis had kept all her gifts, including toys for her children, wrapped up in the garage. However, at around 7pm on December 24, she found they had all gone.
The midwife, said: ‘The garage is about 10m away from our house and I went to get all the presents in so the children could open them the next morning.
‘When I opened the garage, there was nothing there. It took me about 10 seconds to realise someone had broken in and taken them all. The only thing left was a box of Jaffa Cakes.
‘They took the toys I had got for my children as well as gifts for friends and family. There were clothes, selection boxes, little stocking fillers and other presents.’
Ms Purvis said people sent toys, electronic items, Xboxes, bikes, scooters and chocolates for her two young sons (pictured together) to open on Christmas morning
Ms Purvis told family and friends what had happened, and rang the police. Messages were also put on Facebook and soon people started to send gifts.
‘A group of friends started organising presents. Then friends of friends and their families joined in as well, and we started getting gifts from so many people, even strangers.
‘People were sending toys, electronic items, Xboxes, bikes, scooters, chocolates, and lots of other things the whole evening and past midnight.
‘People were still messaging me into the early hours. It was absolutely jam-packed here. I was totally overwhelmed by the generosity.
‘And the boys had a magical morning. To see their little faces when they got up – it brought me to tears. It was very emotional.’
Now Suzie has decided to give away all the extra presents. The food items will go to foodbanks and the remaining gifts will be donated to children’s wards at Sunderland Royal Hospital and the University Hospital of North Durham.
At this stage, it is not clear when the burglary took place. It could have been around a week before Christmas Eve.
A Northumbria Police spokesperson said: ‘At 7.14pm on Monday, police received a report of a burglary on Shaftsbury Park in Hetton-le-Hole.
‘Officers attended the scene where unknown offenders had gained entry to a garage and stolen a number of items including toys and clothes.
‘Enquiries are ongoing and anyone with information which could assist the investigation is asked to contact police on 101 quoting log 895 24/12/18.’