Steyning residents raise money to support elderly woman after purse stolen

The lady - named as Angela - whose purse was stolen has written a card to thank residents for their help. Picture: Jayne Cumbers-Hill

A Steyning resident who helped raise money for a woman whose purse was stolen in the town has thanked the community for its '˜support in making it happen'.

On Tuesday (April 10), a woman – named only as Angela – who suffers from multiple sclerosis said her purse was stolen before she left her house and went to the shops.

After the discovered theft, her neighbour Kay Northcott – who helps Angela with basic jobs – appealed to her Facebook friends for help.

Jayne Cumbers-Hill, a close of friend of Kay’s, decided to take it a step further by setting up a 12-hour JustGiving page with the target of raising £70.

She said: “When I saw the post I just instantly understood her loss as something similar happened to me a year ago.

“I didn’t know the woman but once I found out she was an older lady and suffered from multiple sclerosis, I felt for her and decided I needed to do something.

“I had initially set it up with the idea of raising £60 or £70 to help with her food shopping but managed to reach £85.”

After the theft had been reported, staff at the Co-Operative store, in High Street, Steyning, offered to pay for Angela’s shopping bill.

A spokesman for the store said: “It was organised by Ben Clement and Tanya Beach because they felt this was a horrible situation for the lady and wanted to do something nice.”

Jayne also said she was very thankful to the Co-Operative staff for their ‘kind gesture’.

She added: “I have lived in Steyning for four years so I wasn’t surprised by the reaction. I was hoping to raise money for this lovely lady and would like to thank all the Steyning donaters for all the support in making it happen for Angela.”

Angela – who does not use social media – wrote a letter to Jayne and Kay thanking them for their support.

She wrote: “Dear Jayne, Kay and all the kindly empathetic people who gave money and Christine for her Co-Op voucher, a big thank you for helping after my purse was stolen.

“I am so heartfelt and grateful to you all and totally blown away in gratitude.

“I appreciate you all so much and you have enabled me to cope until my new replacement bank card arrives. Living with MS isn’t easy and the stolen purse wasn’t easy to manage – you are enablers. Big thank you. Love, Angela.”

In all, ten supporters raised a total of £85 in the space of 12 hours.

For more information on the fundraiser, click here.