Schoolgirl, six, left sobbing by thief who stole her purse with £85 money from Christmas, the tooth fairy and financial savings from chores is delighted as outraged locals increase £450 for her

Schoolgirl Isabella Davis is smiling again after discovering the Christmas spirit is not just something you read about in stories.

The six-year-old was left sobbing and heartbroken when someone stole her purse with all her £85 in savings inside from a shopping centre public toilet.

She had gone with her family to look for toys in the sales with cash from Christmas, the tooth fairy and savings from chores when the thief struck.

But after her mother Samantha Davis, 40, posted details of what happened on Facebook to ‘guilt shame’ the ‘horrible’ thief, something wonderful happened.

Their local pub the Ship Inn at Keyingham, near Hull, began a collection for Isabella and people in the community donated cash for her. Even total strangers messaged Mrs Davis on social media asking for bank details to send money to the schoolgirl.

Not only was the £85 replaced in just a few days but in total £450 was donated to Isabella – a wonderful response the family regard as a ‘Christmas miracle.’

The family say they are ‘overwhelmed’ with the public’s generosity and Isabella’s father Joe Davis, 28, said his daughter has learnt that ‘people are still very kind.’

Six-year-old Isabella Davis (pictured) was left devastated when £85 of savings was stolen from her purse from a public toilet in a shopping centre

After mother Samantha took to social media to shame the ‘horrible’ thief, their local pub The Ship Inn made a collection for the youngster raising £450 for the little girl (pictured: Isabella’s open letter)

Isabella was so grateful that she has written an open thank you letter to everyone who donated cash.

The money will be put in a bank account for the future, but Isabella wants to give some cash to buy homeless people she sees in town something to eat and drink.

Mrs Davis, who works for a law firm, said: ‘I just want people to be recognised for what they have done and to say a huge thank you. 

‘And I want Bella to grow up with all that heart she has now. This has reaffirmed to her how there are so many more good people out there compared to the bad.’

The theft happened when Isabella went to the toilet in Hull’s Princes Quay shopping centre a couple of days after Christmas and left her bag hanging on a hook in the cubicle. 

When she realised what she had done half an hour later her mother discovered the bag was gone.

She contacted security and discovered it had been handed in, but the purse with the money inside was missing.

Mrs Davis said: ‘It was so obviously a child’s – the bag is a little pink cat bag and the Lilo and Stitch purse had a letter B on it, for Bella. 

The money will be placed in a savings account for the future, but the kind schoolgirl also wants to donate part of the cash to the homeless (pictured: A Lilo and Stitch themed purse)

‘There was no way you could think any other and, so close to Christmas, you’d know it was a child’s Christmas money.’

The theft was reported to police, but the mother was told nothing could be done as there was no CCTV.

Isabella was distraught and that night struggled to sleep, fearing ‘robbers would come’.

Mr Davis, who works for a caravan building firm, said: ‘She has never experienced anybody being unkind like that before. It was her first taste of the bad things in life.’

However, a few days later and with hundreds of pounds to replace the stolen money, Isabella saw a different side to human nature.

Mr Davis said: ‘We are all overwhelmed. It is not what you expect. My wife put the message on Facebook because she wanted to trigger a bit of guilt in the person responsible. 

‘We didn’t realise how people would react. The spirit of Christmas is still there.’

Ms Davis added: ‘It’s our own Christmas miracle. Some of the people that have rallied round are complete strangers, so I just want to say thank you to them all – and so does my daughter – and I want the world to see that Hull is a place filled with some truly kind people. We feel like we’re in a Christmas movie.’