Father tells robber he hopes he dies in a fire after he steals disabled daughter's only way of communicating
Mark Lawrence says theft of modified laptop will leave her in 'considerable distress'
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Your support makes all the difference.The father of a disabled girl has issued an emotional plea for the return of his daughter’s “voice” laptop – her only means of communicating – after it was stolen.
Celyn Williams, 13, has no motion in her limbs and relies on the specialised device – known as an EyeGaze machine - to speak.
But since thieves broke into her family home in Bristol in the early hours of Monday morning and stole the device, she has been left only able to open her mouth wide to indicate “yes”.
Celyn’s father Mark Lawrence, an author, said he hopes the thief "dies in a fire", adding that the modified laptop will be of little worth to anyone else, but will leave his daughter in “considerable distress”.
In a tweet following the burglary, Mr Lawrence wrote: “To whoever burgled my house last night: 1. Please die in a fire. 2. Could we have Celyn’s communication device and suction machine back.”
He later told The Mirror: “This is her voice. The thieves stole that. I'm sure they didn't know what it was. It was in a nice black case. Without it the only thing she can do is open her mouth wide to indicate 'yes'. It's the only way she can communicate with the world."
A JustGiving page has since been set up by fundraiser and musician Darren Sims in a bid to raise funds towards replacing the vital equipment.
Mr Sims, who used to live in Bristol and now lives in Hull, said: “It’s a disgrace that this has happened, and these callous people have taken away Celyn’s voice. I have fundraised for two EyeGaze devices before for other children so I know how important they are.”
The 45-year-old, who has successfully fundraised over £500,000 through charity appeals in the past, heard about the theft through the local newspaper and wanted to help by setting up the crowdfunding page.
“I hope we can get together and help this family. This is Celyn’s only means of communicating and the thieves who took it will have absolutely no use for it,” he added.
Mr Lawrence said he was “touched” by the support from Mr Sims and others, highlighting that Celyn’s EyeGaze device costs “around what a dozen laptops would and the state doesn’t fund them”.
But he added: “I can’t claim that replacing it is beyond us (it will hurt of course),” and urged the public to instead make their “kind fundraising offers” to a charity such as the Sequal Trust, which helps disabled children and adults get the communication devices they need.
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