Police whip-round for girl taken into protective custody on Christmas Eve warms heart of Sheffield MP

When police made the agonising decision to take a young girl into custody for her own safety on Christmas Eve, they were determined to do something to ease her misery.

By The Newsroom

Published 25th Dec 2017, 09:28 GMT

Updated 25th Dec 2017, 10:40 GMT

Louise Haigh praised police for their generosity

In an attempt to prevent the poor seven-year-old's Christmas from being ruined completely, they organised a whip-round and raised £100 to buy her a big stack of presents.

Their generosity was today praised by Sheffield Heeley MP, who hailed what she described as 'the side of policing not many people see'.

"Merry Christmas all and thank you for the sacrifices you make all year round but especially at this time of year," she added, via Twitter.

She was responding to a message from Detective Inspector Fiona Gaffney, of West Yorkshire Police, who tweeted last night: "Today a seven-year-old was taken into protective custody (a decision not taken lightly).

"Knowing she would miss out we did a whip-round. Officers in the station raised £100 and were able to buy her a load of Christmas presents and wrap them. @WYP_PaulMoney should be very proud."