Police officers in kind gesture for Cerys Lily
WHEN a single dad had a visit from two concerned police officers, he never expected them to present his autistic daughter with the lunchbox she’d set her heart on.
Robert Davies has paid tribute to the kindly officers who bought the gift for eight-year-old Cerys Lily after she had a very public “meltdown”.
The dad and daughter, from Bridgend, had been visiting Argos when Cerys Lily spotted a lunchbox featuring Dory from new Disney Pixar movie Finding Dory.
But when the 41-yearold took it to the till, the store said they weren’t yet on sale, leading to an upset outburst from his devastated girl.
Robert said: “I asked to see the manager and she wouldn’t budge. By now Cerys Lily was in full meltdown, getting very aggressive so I had to physically carry her out and get in the car.
“She eventually calmed down and I managed to get her home and 20 minutes later the police turned up to the house – I was reported for putting a child in a car against their will.”
Fortunately, the South Wales Police officers – PC Steven Bowen and PC Leigh Francis – quickly realised the reality of the situation.
“After I explained to the officers what had happened, they understood fully as one of the officers had a nephew with Aspergers,” added Robert, who shared the heartwarming story on Facebook.
“As they were leaving, they had a laugh with Cerys Lily and put their flashing lights and siren on for her.
“I thought that was the end of it but I had a knock on the door the next morning and it was the same two officers who had gone to the Argos store and bought her the Finding Dory lunchbox she wanted.
“I was a bit overwhelmed when they came so didn’t get to thank them properly. There really are some good people out there.”
Cerys Lily was diagnosed with autism at the age of three.
Speaking to MailOnline, Robert said she has no speech and struggles to sleep – which can affect her behaviour.
“Because she is autistic she doesn’t see life as we see it,” he said.
“When the situation got worse, I realised I had to carry her out. I had to get her away from situation because in her mind she wasn’t leaving without the lunchbox.
“I didn’t even notice the people around me because I was totally fo- cused on her.”
Thousands of people have been sharing Mr Davies’ post – with many Facebook users describing the act as “brilliant”, a “lovely gesture” and “an act of kindness”.
Superintendent Simon Davies, from South Wales Police, said: “Positive feedback is always very much welcomed, it was very kind for Mr Davies to make his thoughts felt in this way.
“Police officers deal with all kinds of situa- tions, sometimes volatile and dangerous ones, and other times, difficult, more sensitive ones.
“The kindness and empathy that both officers showed is a testament to them. They are credit to South Wales Police and can be proud of themselves.”
Robert added: “I hope this incident spreads some awareness and understanding of autism and that situations like this do happen in stores and public places.”