Community rallies together after thief steals nearly £900 in cash from children's gymnastics talent show in Northampton

The owners of a children's gymnastics gym in Northampton have thanked parents for helping to recoup more than £800 that was stolen from a talent show event.

Gymnastricks in Saddlebank Road, Sixfields held its first big talent show event at its new headquarters on Saturday, February 5, raising £880 through ticket sales.

Unfortunately for the gym, out of the 160 people who attended, one person is believed to have stolen a brown envelope where the money was being kept.

Gym owner Jessica Botterill said it felt like her heart had been 'ripped out' when she realised the money was gone.

The 35-year-old said: "This was our first big event at the new gym. It just felt amazing to be able to put this on, then, to lose this money, it was a gutting feeling. I felt it in my stomach. It was for the kids. It just ripped our hearts out."

A week later, Karen Murphy, a parent of a child who attends the gym, set up a GoFundMe page in response to the incident.

The GoFundMe page reads: "The ladies spent time and money transforming the gym with lighting, seating and a backdrop for the stage area. It looked fantastic and the show was amazing.

"The money for the tickets was going to be used to recoup some of the money that had been spent to make the evening as great as it was. Unfortunately, someone had other ideas.

"This person took money from the club and therefore the children who attend the club. It was a terrible end to an evening that had been so enjoyable and had, until that point, been without fault.

"I would like to get the money back for Flick, Jess, Jayne and all of the other coaches who work so hard for our children every week.

"Please give what you can to show them that we appreciate everything they do and that we won’t let one person ruin all of their hard work."

Within 12 hours of the GoFundMe page going up more than £900 had been raised, recouping all of the stolen money and then some.

Jessica said: "We've just had this amazing response. Karen set up a GoFundMe and within 12 hours we had more than the money we had lost.

"It's given us faith back in our community. It was one of them warm, heartfelt moments. It was lovely.

"Massive thank you to everyone who has supported us at a time where we felt so low. We have the most supportive parents. It makes you think how much good there is in the world.

"In a time where it's not been easy for many, people are still willing to give. It felt amazing. We are very thankful."

The GoFundMe has achieved its target but the online fundraiser cannot just be shut down so the club is using any extra money raised to invest back into the gym.

A Northamptonshire Police spokeswoman said anyone with information about the theft should call them on 101 and quote ref number 22000073422.