New parents of 'miracle' baby pay to replace wheels on Rowans Hospice retail van after they were stolen

A COUPLE have donated the money to replace four wheels stolen from a hospice’s shop van.
Mellony and Richard Clegg have paid to replace the wheels for a Rowans Hospice retail van which had all its wheels stolen from outside their Farlington WarehouseMellony and Richard Clegg have paid to replace the wheels for a Rowans Hospice retail van which had all its wheels stolen from outside their Farlington Warehouse
Mellony and Richard Clegg have paid to replace the wheels for a Rowans Hospice retail van which had all its wheels stolen from outside their Farlington Warehouse

The pair, who have recently become new parents, were not alone in offering to help and staff at the hospice in Purbrook, which provides care for people with life-threatening illnesses, were ‘blown away’ by the response.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mellony said: ‘After 11 years of trying to have a baby, we welcomed our little miracle Thomas this year.

‘Looking around we know we are truly blessed to have a house, all the material things in life, but actually, health, happiness and kindness are what truly matters, especially right now when the country is facing such a crisis.

‘My husband Richard and I saw the appeal on Facebook and remembered that the Rowans Hospice is my eight-year-old nephew George’s chosen charity. He takes part in their kids’ Starlit Memories Walk every October, so we just felt we needed to help them.’

Mellony added: ‘Richard and I just looked at each other and knew we wanted to pay the total cost for the replacement wheels and tyres, as well as the cost of fitting to help get them back on the road. It was a total no-brainer for us.’

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The post was shared more than 3,000 times and many residents were left disgusted by the theft.

Carol Milner, director of income generation said: ‘We were absolutely blown away by the reaction to our appeal about our retail van’s wheels being stolen.

‘Amazingly, within the hour there had been almost one thousand shares of the post far and wide, and so many offers of cash donations to help us buy the new wheels. I was so touched when Mellony and Richard Clegg contacted us here at the Hospice and offered to pay the total cost of replacing the wheels for us.

‘At a time when people are really facing their own personal worries about what’s going on currently, it is so heartening to know there is kindness and generosity in spadefuls out amongst our wonderful community of supporters.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

‘On behalf of the Rowans Hospice Charity, I really want to say a heartfelt thank you to Mellony and Richard for their kindness.’

A message from the Editor

Thank you for reading this story on portsmouth.co.uk. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to portsmouth.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit our Subscription page now to sign up.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Related topics:

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.