Beauty and the beasts!
THIEVES SNATCH CLOTHING WHICH STAR DONATED TO A CANCER CHARITY ON TYNESIDE
CHARITY rats have stolen items of clothing donated to a cancer charity by Little Mix star Jade Thirlwall.
The donations were stored in a Citroen C1 which was parked in an alley behind Club Del Mar on Ocean Road, South Shields, late on Saturday into the early hours of yesterday when the thieves struck.
Its owner, Katie Donald, returned from her shift in the club to find her car’s window shattered, with the wrapped-up clothes and a laptop snatched from inside the vehicle.
The thief smashed the window before rifling through the car and stealing the valuables. The clothes had been sold for a total of £165, with the proceeds going to South Shields charity, Cancer Connections.
Katie said: “I didn’t know what to do, I rang the police, they said they couldn’t come down then, but they’ve been out this morning.
“I was in shock. It’s the one night I didn’t park under the cameras that I get broken into.
“The parcels were hidden. They smashed the window, climbed into the car boot, took the laptop, opened the parcels and turned my car inside out.”
The thief left three lighters and a bag with £10 in it, which Katie hopes is covered in their finger prints.
A friend of Katie’s, who knows Little Mix singer Jade, had arranged for the star to donate some of her clothes, which were auctioned to the band’s fans to raise money for Cancer Connections.
Jade is a patron of the charity, which provides emotional support and practical help for cancer patients and their families in South Tyneside. Throughout her career, the 24-year-old South Shields singer’s clothes have raised £5,000.
Katie, 18, had wrapped the singer’s Boy London jacket and Fred Perry polo shirt in parcels, so they could be sent to the buyers.
She planned to post them before starting work at Club Del Mar, but the Post Office was shut and Katie did not have time to take them home before her shift.
She hid the items under the car seats, while her laptop was in the boot.
The clothes are custom-made for Jade and had been bought by as Christmas presents for Little Mix fans.
The buyers will be refunded and offered the items again if they are returned.
The jacket had sold for £105 and the t-shirt was bought for £60.
“People bought the items in an auction and paid a lot of money for them.
“I was going to take them to the Post Office but did not have time, it was shut and I had to go to work,” said Katie.
She added: “Obviously, they will be upset because Jade wore them, and they wanted them for Christmas presents.”
Katie has reported the theft to Northumbria Police and urges anyone who has any information to get in touch with officers.