Cruel thief steals charity donation box from little Leeds boy who suffers from leukaemia

Gemma Hebbron said her son Thomas, seven, was left "heartbroken" after she told him about the theft, which happened at Soap Opera in Easterly Road, Gipton.

Thomas, from Roundhay, was diagnosed with T-Cell Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia when he was just five-years-old in February 2019.

Nearly two years of aggressive chemotherapy has been necessary, but has caused Thomas lots of pain through its side-effects - and there are still two years to go.

He has suffered heart problems, was in a wheelchair for a time, and had to learn how to write again.

He and his mum set up Thomas Fight TALL, a special named fund at Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group (CCLG) raising funds for research into finding kinder and more effective treatments for childhood leukaemia.

They distributed charity donation boxes to businesses in Leeds, but Gemma, who is her son's full time carer, was stunned when she was told one had been taken.

She said: "I felt physically sick - why would someone steal from a charity?

"It had my son's picture on it, I was gutted. How could you just discard something like that?

"It took my ages to pluck up the courage to tell him.

"He was heartbroken, but I couldn't not tell him."

Gemma, a former teacher who had to retire on health grounds, said the ordeal had made her question whether to carry on distributing boxes, but she and her son have decided they are not giving up.

They had wanted to raise £1,000 by the end of last year, but succeeded in raising more than double that.

"That was a positive," Gemma said. "So it was a huge kick in the teeth for someone to take it upon themselves to steal like that.

"Thomas wants to keep going. He wants to raise more money than what was stolen."

Gemma added: "You can't remove blood, so you have to treat it.

"If they can keep researching less aggressive ways to treat it successfully, there will be fewer side effects.

"My main aim so far has been for him to stay alive.

"This is the third time he has been fighting for his life.

"I am not giving up."

A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said: "Enquiries are ongoing regarding the theft of a charity box from a business premises on Easterly Road in Gipton on December 27."

To get involved with fundraising, contact Gemma via Facebook at www.facebook.com/ThomasFightTALL or e mail her at [email protected]

To donate, go to https://specialnamedfunds.cclg.org.uk/thomas-fight-tallSupport the YEP and become a subscriber today. Enjoy unlimited access to local news and the latest on Leeds United, With a digital subscription, you see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Click here to subscribe.