A ‘Fagin mother’ was caught on camera brazenly ‘coaxing her young son into stealing wrapped Christmas presents’ from outside a family’s home.
Emma Fryer returned from shopping on November 21 to discover the trio of beautifully-wrapped presents – which she had put out as decorations – had disappeared from her doorstep.
After quizzing her landscaper hubby Anthony Fryer, 34, about their whereabouts, the mum-of-three dashed to look at CCTV camera footage to see what had happened.
A mother was caught on CCTV ‘coaxing’ a young boy, thought to be her son, into stealing wrapped Christmas presents from outside a family’s home in Leicester Forest East last month
The young boy hesitates before grabbing three presents and running off back to the woman
The 32-year-old was stunned to discover footage of a young boy appearing to be ordered to take the presents by a woman, believed to be his mother, pushing a pram.
The little boy pauses, as if to question whether he should do it, before scurrying over, swiping the presents and running off clutching them under her watchful eye.
Minutes later the pair can be seen returning, with the boy shamelessly carrying his loot back past where he’d swiped them from.
Senior account manager Emma has blasted the mother’s ‘disgusting’ actions – and said she shouldn’t take ‘parenting tips from Oliver Twist’.
Emma, from Leicester Forest East, Leicestershire, said: ‘The mum is like Fagin getting him to take them.
‘I just want to embarrass her now because I think what she’s done is disgusting.
Pictured: Emma Fryer and her husband Anthony were shocked when they discovered presents had been stolen from the doorstep as it was all caught on CCTV fitted at the front of their home
Pictured: The presents, which they had for 9 years, were decorations which are usually lit with LEDs and Emma had put them outside her home this year as part of the home’s decorations
‘I was more shocked at the fact that she made her child do it, I definitely wouldn’t have expected a parent to do that.
‘If it was a grown-up I wouldn’t be as shocked but she got a child to do it.
‘I’m a mother myself and to think I’d get my children to do that, well I just never would. It’s not teaching her children the right thing.
‘You can see initially on the camera he obviously spots it first, he looks at it, he looks back at her and then he goes for it. He’s sort of coaxed into it.
‘I understand everyone’s having hard times, but come on.
‘I would suggest she re-thinks her parenting skills in the future, she shouldn’t be taking parenting tips from Oliver Twist.’
Brazen woman caught walking back past the house as the boy clutches stolen decorations
The decorations were light-up presents the family had enjoyed for nine years and displayed under their Christmas tree.
Since the electrics had stopped working, the wiring was removed and Emma placed them outside, planning to fill them with battery-powered LEDs for the neighbours to enjoy.
It was as Emma, who is mother to children aged 14, 12 and seven, was returning from a shopping trip for the led lights that she noticed the decorations had gone.
Emma said: ‘We’d had the light-up presents for nine years.
‘They were well-loved decorations that came out year after year and sat under the tree.
‘This year when I got them out the lights had stopped working so I took all the electrics out and put them at the front door as I thought they’d be nice to look at.
Pictured: the woman walks back past Emma’s home. The incident has left Emma reluctant to put any more Christmas decorations outside her home in case they get stolen as well
‘It didn’t cross my mind that I’d have to secure them, I thought they would be safe there.
‘I’d nipped out to get some battery LEDs to put inside them and came back about 5.30pm and realised they weren’t on the doorstep.
‘They’d only been out for probably two hours, so not long at all.
‘I thought Anthony had moved them as the house has recently been renovated so he’s a bit of a Scrooge in terms of not wanting things on the windowsills or on the front.
‘I thought I might have been pushing my luck by putting them on the front, but it looked lovely.
‘I came in with the lights and asked him where the presents were, he looked genuinely shocked so we went straight up to the cameras and had a look.
‘When I saw the CCTV footage I remember being quite shocked, it did upset me a little bit – the whole ‘mum’ thing and her getting her child to do it.
‘She sent her son, who I don’t think is any older than seven, to get the presents.
‘I’m shocked by it all. I did go in and pour myself a drink and my husband got in the car and drove round to see if they were still out walking.’
The incident has put Emma off putting any decorations in front of her home again, for fear of them being swiped again.