'It's heartbreaking': Thief foiled after trying to steal a food parcel from the doorstep of a family in need

A heartless thief has been caught on camera trying to steal a food parcel from the doorstep of a young family in need.

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Dad-of-two David was left shocked and angry after a video revealed a man attempting to take the package from his doorstep at the city’s Moredun flats.

The thief, who is seen riding a scooter, was scared off by a neighbour who shouted at him.

Food parcels have been stolen from high rise flat at Moredun

David, 29, said this wouldn’t have been the first time he had a food delivery from Empty Kitchens, Full Hearts nicked from outside his home.

“I look after two toddlers one of them has additional needs and also I am carer for my Dad who lives nearby,” he said.

He added: "It's not the first time. Parcels have gone after just ten or fifteen minutes. It’s terrible.

"I don’t know who the guy was. I don’t recognise him so I don’t think he lives in the flats here and the concierge didn’t know him either. But it was clear he was out to steal the food.”

The attempted theft comes just weeks after cuts were made to Universal Credit – a move which left vulnerable families on low incomes dependent on foodbanks like Empty Kitchens, which has delivered more than a million meals to those in need since it was set up in response to the Covid-19 crisis.

David is one of those to suffer from the changes and is now missing out on £80 per month.

"That hit us hard,” he said. “I count on those deliveries, getting by is hard. Basic things for wee ones like nappies cost a bomb, it can be £13 for a full pack.

"These food parcels help me out a lot so for someone to take them, they must be heartless or really desperate.”

Dylan Childs, operations manager at Empty Kitchens, described the incident as ‘heartbreaking’.

"The deliveries go to people who desperately need it,” he said.

"To think that people would take advantage of that is just awful. Our team are aware of several incidents in the past year, in Moredun and other areas with multi-storey flats.

"If something like this happens we would encourage people to get in touch with us. We can work with people to find a safer delivery location or plan that works for them.”

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