FESTIVE goodwill was restored in Farnham this week, after the community rallied to replace an elderly lady’s pension money stolen in the days leading up to Christmas.

The woman was left “distraught and heartbroken” after her purse was pinched last Friday just minutes after withdrawing two weeks-worth of pension payments, worth £280, from the Post Office in West Street.

Her bus pass - the poor lady’s only mode of transport - was also stolen, and to make matters worse she was set to spend Christmas alone following the distressing incident.

She was consoled by staff at the Edinburgh Woollen Mill immediately after the theft, where she is a regular customer, and concerned for her well-being, the shop’s staff gave her £25 to buy food and pay for a taxi home, as well as arranging for a replacement bus pass.

“She was absolutely distraught bless her,” shop manager Helen Foot told The Herald. “She lives on her own and didn’t have any family with her over Christmas, so you can imagine the state she was in.”

The West Street shop also decided to have a ‘whip-around’ to replace some of the lady’s pension money, and shared her story on Facebook with the sole intention of warning others to be on the look-out for thieves.

This solicited an incredible response, and Facebook users soon began asking how they could help replace the lady’s lost cash. The shop recommended people donate in store, and in just five days staff raised more than £500 for the woman.

Customers at The Elm Tree pub in Weybourne have contributed in excess of £150, and testament to the power of social media another £50 donation was made by an individual on the Isle of Mull in Scotland moved by the woman’s plight.

The Edinburgh Woollen Mill also received a number of Christmas cards for the lady, as well as countless offers from well-wishing families for the lady to join them for Christmas Day lunch.

Trudy Kitabayashi, local marketing manager at the Edinburgh Woollen Mill and a friend of the lady for many years, said she was stunned by the public’s generosity.

She said: “It’s horrible that it happened to her, but the ending has been so incredibly positive.

“On the day it happened I said let’s have a whip-around and customers started giving us small amounts like £5 to pay for the taxi home. But once it went on Facebook it just snowballed.

“People from all over the place started messaging us asking where they could send donations. Someone - a complete stranger - set up an online fundraising page and then The Elm Tree in Weybourne began collecting donations too.

“Everybody just really wants to help her and it just went mad. I was astounded by it, absolutely flabbergasted because it was Christmas and people were busy, but they still took the time to come and in donate.

“I took her home that day and then after work I took a box of chocolates around from everyone in the store, which she didn’t want to take because we’d already given her £25 to get a bit of shopping.

“The £25 wasn’t much but it was all we could cobble together on the day, but she didn’t even want to take that, and now we’ve got something like £500 to give her! We live in a very nice community.”

The shop again took to Facebook on Tuesday to thank everyone for their generosity and the online community again responded in kind.

One person commented: “Poor lady, it’s so wrong and I hope she gets comfort from donations from us on this site that there are more nice people than scumbags that prey on the vulnerable.”

Others wrote: “Very upsetting not the Farnham I grew up in what has happened to this once lovely town” and “Wow it’s amazing that out of such an evil act so much goodness from so many has surfaced.”

And, summing up the thoughts of many, another member of the Farnham Rants group said: “We are a nation of caring people! It’s such a shame there are a few people out there that ruin it for everyone not to mention scaring the living daylights out of people.

“God bless this woman I hope she recovers from this hideous attack quickly and her faith in human nature returns as soon as possible.”