Heartless thieves take charity cash from mum’s own home
Criminals break in and take money for Down’s Syndrome
A mum has been left devastated after thieves broke into her home and stole money raised for a charity which supports her 10-month-old daughter.
Beth Trenerry was at home when thieves broke in and stole money she had collected to help the organisation that supports her daughter, Luna.
The mum was with baby Luna when the raiders forced their way in through patio doors. They fled the house, in Consett, County Durham, with the keys to her husband’s blue Audi S3 sports car and a purse containing hundreds of pounds.
Mrs Trenerry was upstairs at the time of the raid.
The 32-year-old said: “I heard the Audi being driven off. When I real- ised what had happened and that they had been in the house I was shaken and could not sleep afterwards.
“My daughter has Down’s Syndrome and so the money was raised for Together 21, a support group and charity close to my heart. It made me feel angry. It is heartwrenching.
“Our plan was to hold a fundraising night and the money stolen was from ticket sales. The money was on top of a charity flyer so they must have known what it was for.”
Police are now hunting the thieves following the incident on Redmire Drive at around 10.50pm on Thursday.
A Durham Constabulary spokeswoman said: “The victim has been left devastated by this theft and we hope to bring the culprits to justice.”
A fundraising page has now been set-up by Mrs Trenerry’s sister, Luna Trenerry from Consett, County Durham Beth and Neil Trenerry from Consett, who had their car and charity cash stolen Donna Tunney, in a bid to recover the funds.
And so far more than £1,000 has been donated.
Donna wrote: “As some of you will know my sister and her husband had their house broken in to on Thursday night.
“The vile person who did this took Neil’s car and also some charity ad personal money. We have been selling tickets for our Together 21 Banquet for several weeks now and the event is next week.
“Beth had some of the ticket money from her sales and it has all been taken. We would like to try and raise this back plus a bit extra if possible.”
Mrs Trenerry, who works as a florist, had hoped the banquet would raise valuable funds to support little known charity, Together 21’s local group based at Newton Aycliffe, which she says has been a lifeline since Luna was born on Boxing Day last year.
“I knew nothing about Down’s Syndrome when Luna was born,” she explained. “I wanted to meet other children with Down’s Syndrome and their mums and that was initially why I went to their group.
“The charity is all about early intervention. The aim was to raise more money because we want speech and language therapists and physiotherapists.”
To donate, visit www.justgiving. com/crowdfunding/donna-tunney
Anyone who saw the vehicle in the area at the time, or has any information, should contact Durham Constabulary on 101.