A MOTHER has been left shocked and angry after a shopping bag containing £50-worth of meat was stolen from underneath her pushchair in a charity shop.

Leanne Fletcher, a mother-of-five from Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, said the meat was a major part of her weekly shop and is disgusted thieves could be so callous as to take it from her buggy.

The 35-year-old believes the bag was taken in Barnado’s charity shop on Greenwell Road in the town at about 11.30am yesterday (Thursday, January 29), the only time the pushchair was left unattended.

She said: “I had parked the buggy near the front as it was dripping snow around the shop.

“The little one was playing with the toys and we were having a good look around. I was shocked and upset when I discovered the shopping was missing.

“It was our weekly shop and I had planned lots of healthy meals for the kids.”

Ms Fletcher said a kind offer by her butcher, Thames Butchers in the Thames Centre, Newton Aycliffe, to replace the stolen meat for free had restored her faith in humanity.

She is now warning other parents to be careful when leaving prams and pushchairs unattended and is urging anyone with information to contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800-555-111.