Restaurant owner's kind act after family gets belongings stolen on holiday

A family who were robbed while on a weekend away have been touched by the generosity of two local restaurants.

Mathew Ferguson, his partner Yasmin Blogg, and their two children Logan, aged 10, and Archie, 18 months, set off from the Sunshine Coast on Friday for a caravan park in Hervey Bay, in Southern Queensland.

The night of their arrival a thief broke into their cabin while they were sleeping and stole Mathew’s wallet and Yasmin’s purse, containing $1000 in total.

“We woke up in the morning to the doors wide open, and after about 30 minutes we realised my wallet and my partner’s purse had been stolen,” Mr Ferguson said.

“Police came and chatted to us but the issue didn’t seem urgent to them. Also there was another cabin broken into the night before and the lady had her handbag stolen.”

Mr Ferguson took to social media on Saturday pleading the community to keep their eyes peeled for their stolen belongings, saying it was a shame the “poor kids had their weekend away ruined by some thief”.

The father was “blown away” when he received a kind message from Jay Hodmain, who offered to feed the family at his fish and chip shop and Italian restaurant for the remaining days of their holiday.

“Our teams at Riccardos Italiano and Seafront Fish and Chips all jumped on board to make Mathew and his family have a happier experience after what happened to them,” Mr Hodmain said.

“We just wanted to make sure they had a decent weekend away and with us located next to the Water Park, it offered a perfect setting for them, to experience what Hervey Bay is really like, not unfortunately happened to them.

“We are happy, we could make a difference and turn their weekend around.”

Mr Ferguson said his family felt “humbled that a stranger would take time out of their life to even consider extending an offer” to help them.

“We were a little down about what happened, but thanks to Jay we will be returning to have another holiday,” he said.

A separate community also banded together recently in support of the father of one-year-old girl, Kinsley, who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia late last year.