A mother left devastated after thieves stole her car and essential equipment needed for her seriously-ill daughter has been overwhelmed by the number of people wanting to help the family.

Yesterday, the Telegraph & Argus exclusively reported how Louise and Herman Frantzich’s Rover Streetwise was stolen last Friday night, along with car seats and a buggy which are vital to take two-year-old Audrey on trips and to regular hospital appointments.

The car has since been recovered, but the seats, buggy, a satellite navigation system and camera had been taken from it – even a disabled badge was ripped from the windscreen.

Since then four people have contacted the Telegraph & Argus offering to help the family and more have contacted them directly.

An insurance excess of £500 and a £170 charge to recover the vehicle has left the Baildon couple struggling to replace the lost items.

The owner of Barker’s newsagents, in Sunbridge Road, Bradford, has given them £500.

Pervez Abbas said: “It’s just that she’s such a little girl and it’s such a bad thing to happen to her and I decided as a fellow citizen I wanted to help.”

Mrs Frantzich, 28, said: “Wow. I can’t believe someone would do that. I can hardly believe it’s genuine – when you’ve had bad things happen you, you think the worst.”

She said the cash would cover the cost of the £170 recovery charge and they hoped to buy a new car seat to take Audrey to a hospital appointment at Bradford Royal Infirmary tomorrow.

One man, who wanted to remain anonymous, said: “Life must be very hard for them, and this is a devastating blow. It saddens me deeply, and I would like to do something to help.” He offered £100.

Another man, of Middlesbrough, added: “I have just read the terrible story about this little girl's specialist equipment being stolen and would like to make a contribution to help them out.”

Mrs Frantzich said: “It’s really lovely, it’s really so nice of people. It does make you feel a bit better that there’s people out there wanting to do this.

“We’ve still not replaced everything. The car seat we’ve seen is £170, it’s a lot of money to think about sorting out – especially when that’s what we had to pay to get the car back.

“We’ve had loads of people calling and messaging us wanting to help – even though we’ve told them someone has offered £500, they still want to help.”

Audrey, who is supported by the Martin House Children’s Hospice, needs a car seat with extra head support as the rare condition she suffers with means she cannot sit up on her own.

Having Trisomy 9 Mosaic (T9M), also means she is very small for her size and cannot walk or talk. She is feed by tube, has reflux, spinal problems, two hearing aids and a cleft palate.

Faheem Rahman, who owns a car customisation business and founded The Faith centre in Bradford also got in touch.

“I have just read the article regarding the disabled tot named Audrey Frantzich and would like to do my bit to help a fellow community member,” he said.

“We at The Faith Centre and Custom My Ride would like to volunteer to install all the specialist equipment and go to other businesses who will help us by donating the equipment or giving us a discount or if we have to we will also do a fundraiser to earn funds.”

Anyone who can help Mr Rahman can contact him on 07976 314892.

  • Police said two women, aged 18 and 25, have been released without charge and a 24-year-old man has been released on bail pending further inquiries into the theft.