A GOOD samaritan who cooks meals for her elderly neighbours has slammed a “selfish” thief who snatched £300 worth of food - even taking the teabags.

Carol Clark, a resident of Spa Court, Spa Road, Hockley, regularly provides food and drink services to her neighbours in the communal area of the complex.

The sheltered accommodation, run by Sanctuary Housing, has 36 flats and bungalows, but Ms Clark said some residents struggle to cook for themselves, which is why she offers her service.

However, after a weekend away she returned on Sunday to find someone had stolen all the food - and even the hot and cold drinks that she had stored in cupboards and fridges in the communal area.

Ms Clark believes around £300 worth of food was taken.

The 63-year-old said: “They took everything, they took the fresh food, the drinks, and the packets of cappuccinos and sachets.

“Then they tried to break the lock on the door. It’s awful.”

READ MORE:

Ms Clark said that during this week, as a result of her not being able to cook, other residents with limited skills have tried to cook for themselves and struggled.

She said: “One dropped the frying pan trying to cook for herself and another one dropped scalding hot water, all because some selfish person took it all for themselves.

“Even though I’m disabled myself, I try to do it for all of them. I just can’t believe someone would do such a cruel thing.

“I came down this morning and people were coming up with envelopes with £50, £20 and £25 to help start up the kitchen again.”

A spokesman for Sanctuary Housing said: “We’re aware of this incident and are really disappointed to hear about it.

"We will offer the police any support they need, will be speaking to residents about anything we might be able to do to prevent this happening again and are also in contact with the affected resident to offer her support to replace the food that has been taken."

Essex Police are investigating.

Call 101 quoting reference number 42/169677/21.