A Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officer has helped to raise £1,570 for a family who were the victims of two terrifying aggravated burglaries in the space of a year.
Sucha Singh, 44, is paralyzed from the neck down and was forced to watch in horror as three masked men forced their way into the house in Cheetham Hill which he shares with his wife Angela Loey and their 14-year-old son Akash and threatened them with machetes.
That attack occurred in May 2014, just eight months after a raid in which masked men escaped with jewellery and £700 that Sucha had saved to send his wife and son to Disney World in Florida.
Touched by the family’s suffering, Constable Gary Carter decided to help send Akash and Angela on the holiday that had been stolen from them.
Along with fellow fund-raiser David Downie, who helped set up a Just Giving page dedicated to the family, Gary, Davie and others started collecting prizes for a raffle and appealing for people to donate to the cause.
The response was overwhelming.
Gary said: “As soon as I made people aware of the horrific events Sucha and his family had been subjected to, Davie, a Civil Servant from Scotland, threw himself into doing something which I know has boosted the family massively.
“It has had a visible effect on them and really helping them to recover their faith in humanity.
“I have been so impressed by people’s generosity; Davie in particular is a fine example of the way that old-style community values still exist.
“Angela is Sucha’s full time carer and his son, Akash, has always wanted to go to Disney World.
“With Sucha being paralysed he obviously cannot work and it is obviously very difficult for the family to afford such a trip.
“He had been saving for a long time to give his son the chance of a dream holiday, and to give his wife a break from the day-to-day work of caring for both him and Akash.
“The robbers not only caused significant psychological damage to the family, but they also stole Akash’s only chance to experience Disney World.
“When I saw this, I knew I had to do something to help and the outpouring of support and money has surpassed anything I ever hoped for.
“I also helped the family deal with other issues as a result of the robberies, including liasing with the insurers and local authority to assist the installation of an improved security system, but helping Akash get the holiday of a lifetime is by far the most rewarding aspect!”