A HAMPSHIRE community is rallying round after money destined for a little girl with spina bifida was stolen.

Family of 11-year-old Tamsin Jewett had hoped to raise £2,500 to give her a better night’s sleep with a specialised bed.

Locals had rallied round to raise funds when thieves broke into the Hamble Club and took the collection bottle.

But now the Backwater Roll Blues Band has stepped in to play a fundraiser gig after being moved by Tamsin’s story.

The youngster, who attends St Francis Special School in Fareham, was born with spina bifida and hydrocephalus (fluid on the brain).

She is paralysed from the waist down and needs an electrically-operated bed.

Mum Nina Crook, 30, said her daughter had grown to hate anything medical after many operations and had always wanted a “girly” bedroom.

So she and husband Liam, 26, Tamsin’s stepfather and a marine engineer at BAE in Portsmouth, decided to buy a £2,500 specialist bed that will not only make Tamsin more comfortable but also will look less like a hospital bed.

They approached Hamble Club which agreed to put out a collection bottle.

But two weeks later, just after Christmas, the club suffered a break-in. Nina understands that only the bottle, containing around £400, was taken.

“The bottle had a lovely picture of her on it. What goes through people’s minds? How can they do that?” said Nina, of Sarisbury Green, who is Tamsin’s full-time carer.

“It says what we’re raising money for and they took it anyway.”

But just days later she was approached by band singer Mark Smith, who wanted to help after hearing about what happened on Facebook.

“We’re all dads,” said the 38-year-old father-of-one from Hedge End. “We had to help. You do it all for your kids.”

The band has been around for 20 years but in its current line-up for two and released its first official album last November.

The gig will be at Hamble Club on April 18 starting at 7.30pm and Tamsin and her family will be there to support support the band.