Sheffield mum whose disabled son will only eat Cadbury Pots of Joy and Ambrosia custard issues urgent appeal

A mum has issued a desperate plea after a dessert which is a vital part of her disabled son's diet disappeared from shelves in Sheffield.
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Lucas Croxall, from Stannington, Sheffield, has a rare condition called Lowe syndrome, which his mother, Jane Thompson, says only affects around 80 children in the UK.

It means the nine-year-old struggles to eat and the only things he will stomach are Cadbury Pots of Joy and Ambrosia Custard.

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Jane says she usually gets the popular Cadbury dessert, which is actually manufactured by Muller, from the Morrisons supermarket in Hillsborough, where staff have been ‘fantastic’ at keeping her supplied throughout the pandemic.

Jane Thompson has issued an urgent appeal for help to find more packs of Cadbury Pots of Joy in Sheffield as it is one of only two things her disabled son, who has a rare condition, will eatJane Thompson has issued an urgent appeal for help to find more packs of Cadbury Pots of Joy in Sheffield as it is one of only two things her disabled son, who has a rare condition, will eat
Jane Thompson has issued an urgent appeal for help to find more packs of Cadbury Pots of Joy in Sheffield as it is one of only two things her disabled son, who has a rare condition, will eat

But she has not been able to find it there for the last few days, with the store telling her it has failed to receive a delivery of the product, and an extensive search of other stores around Sheffield has proved fruitless.

She says Lucas typically devours around 20 pots of the dessert every week, with his diet topped up by vitamins and supplements, and she is growing increasingly worried as she is down to her last few containers.

“It’s horrendous. I’ve tried everywhere without any luck and I don’t know what I’m going to do if I can’t find any more,” she said.

Lucas Croxall tucking into a Cadbury Pots of Joy dessert. The nine-year-old from Stannington, Sheffield, has Lowe sydrome and the dessert is one of only two things he will eat, and his mum is desperate as she cannot find any more of the productLucas Croxall tucking into a Cadbury Pots of Joy dessert. The nine-year-old from Stannington, Sheffield, has Lowe sydrome and the dessert is one of only two things he will eat, and his mum is desperate as she cannot find any more of the product
Lucas Croxall tucking into a Cadbury Pots of Joy dessert. The nine-year-old from Stannington, Sheffield, has Lowe sydrome and the dessert is one of only two things he will eat, and his mum is desperate as she cannot find any more of the product
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“It’s got to the stage where my friend’s parents live in Market Drayton, where the Muller factory is, and I’ve said I’ll drive there if you can pick them up direct from the factory.

“I’ve tried Cadbury Flake desserts, chocolate button ones and Aero ones but he won’t eat any of them.

“I’ve tried decanting other chocolate deserts into empty Pots of Joy containers but he’s not fooled.

“I even found the recipe online and made them myself. They taste just the same but the consistency’s different so it’s no good.”

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Jane told how Lowe syndrome affects people’s eyes, brain and kidneys, and Lucas is partially sighted and has a mental age of about three. She said he is regularly seen by medics at both Sheffield Children’s Hospital and Great Ormond Street Hospital.

She fears that if she cannot find more of the pots soon, he may have to be fitted with a feeding tube.

A spokesperson for Müller UK & Ireland said: “Following a temporary shortage of cocoa powder from our supplier, we are pleased to confirm that limited production has restarted of our licensed chilled desserts range. Our retail customers should be restocked with certain products from this range by the end of this week.”

If you can help, please email: [email protected].

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