An elderly lady who had £200 stolen from her purse in Armagh city centre last month has been given the same amount back following a public fundraiser.
The theft occurred outside the Card Factory on Scotch Street back on December 7.
The woman had a purse, containing £200 cash and three bank cards, swiped from her handbag by two unidentified women.
The incident caused outrage publicly, prompting one Armagh man to set up a fundraiser to help raise money for this woman not to be left out of pocket.
And the people of the borough responded in kind.
The incident was just one of two similar attacks on elderly ladies that day, with the same unscrupulous thieves swiping cash from a lady in Lurgan.
Taking to social media, police explained: “Following the report, a local Armagh man Gareth Boylan kindly did something charitable by setting up a fundraising account through Facebook.
“The generosity of the people of Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon and those on Facebook, managed to raise enough money to give back the sum of money taken to both ladies.”
Police visited the lady from Armagh on Friday evening and gave her the £200 – a great way to start the year, especially given the way 2018 had ended.
The post added: “She was overwhelmed and very thankful for everyone’s efforts and particularly Gareth who took the steps to start the fundraising. Furthermore it shows that there are so many good people in our local community.”
Police say they hope to have the money returned to the lady in Lurgan next week and the other £40 raised will be donated to the Northern Ireland Air Ambulance.
It’s a sign of fantastic community spirit.
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