A WEST Belfast family have been left devastated after their car was stolen with their son's wheelchair inside.
The MacGabhann family from Ballymurphy are well-known for their campaigning on organ donation, with son Dáithí waiting on a new heart since 2018.
In a post on Facebook, the family revealed their car – a silver Skoda Kodiaq – was stolen in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
"In the early hours of this morning, our family car was stolen. We’re absolutely devastated, especially at this time of year.
"What makes this even harder is that Dáithí’s wheelchair was in the car. He’s now left without it, which has a real impact on his day-to-day life.
"We won’t go into too much detail, but this is being treated seriously and the police are investigating. We’re sharing this to make people in the area aware and to ask everyone to stay vigilant.
"Like many families, Christmas presents were in the car too. We won’t let this ruin the magic for Dáithí, but it’s hard not to feel that something really special has been taken from us.
"We want to say thank you to the community in Ballymurphy for the messages, the support, and for looking out for one another. It means more than people realise. Thank you as well to the PSNI and to Councillor Michael Donnelly for their help this morning.
"If anyone has seen or heard anything that might help, please contact the police directly.
We’ll keep going. We always do."
