5:50pm Friday 10th July 2009
A GRANDMOTHER with cancer who was targeted by thieves has been given a much-needed boost by a Pitsea camping shop.
Susan Hewett, 54, of Collingwood Terrace, Pitsea, was devastated to discover her tent had been stolen from her home on Sunday night.
For years, the retired caterer has used the tent for peaceful breaks away with husband Peter, 61, who lost a leg 14 years ago due to thrombosis.
They were planning another trip to help Susan’s recovery, after she was diagnosed with mouth cancer a few days before Christmas.
Susan had to undergo two major operations to have part of her jaw bone and a large part of her tongue removed. That has left her with slurred speech and reliant on a feeding tube, and compounded her existing problems with diabetes, arthritis, angina, liver damage and asthma.
The couple were preparing for one of their regular camping trips to Suffolk, where they raised their four children, when they discovered their shed had been ransacked by thieves.
Their daughter, Nicola King, 38, a teaching assistant from Basildon, said: “Apart from her family, mum’s only other real love is camping. She had only recently got the all-clear from the doctor to go camping again and she was really looking forward to it, because it gives her a real lift.
“However, as you can imagine, after this nasty turn of events, she was left feeling very upset and down.”
After the Echo contacted the GO Outdoors store, which opened last week in High Road, store manager Mark Bilton kindly agreed to replace Susan’s lost tent.
He said: “She is clearly a very plucky lady with a spirit for the great outdoors, so we are more than happy to help out.”
Susan, who works as a volunteer at art classes for children at local schools, was delighted when she got the news yesterday afternoon.
She said: “Thank you so much, that really is a lovely gesture. It is fantastic to get such a nice surprise.”
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