Somerset community helps boy after thieves steal homemade jam

A young boy and his grandmother have been inundated with donations after thieves raided their homemade jam stall.

James, aged 10, from South Petherton in Somerset has been making the preserves with his grandmother for two years and was saving up to buy a motorbike when he turns 16.

More than £40 of produce and jars were taken from their roadside stall overnight on 8 January after thieves made off with jam and cash.

The community has now banded together to raise more than £200 for James, as well as donating additional fruit and jars for his business.

His grandmother Kate said she could not understand why the theft happened but added James is now “up for the challenge of starting again”.

Speaking to Charlie Taylor on BBC Radio Somerset, Kate said she was “quite shocked” when she noticed the jams were missing.

“I went out in the morning just to put the eggs out and noticed everything was gone.

“You get the odd pot going missing but to take the whole lot, it was a bit of a shock.

“He is 10, so generally they do bounce back quite quickly from things like that… he’s up for the challenge of starting it all again,” she explained.

Kate added they have received more than 300 messages on social media offering help and donations.

James said he is delighted by the response. “I felt like I had a nice community around me,” he said.

“We’ve got a new shed, we’ve got a light for it and a security camera so it doesn’t happen again.”