Oldbury officers have thanked a local women’s group for their time knitting Trauma Teddies – cuddly toys given by police to children caught up in domestic incidents or ones in need of comfort.

The Hawne Women’s Institution, part of the West Midlands Federation and based in Halesowen, has kindly donated a large number of teddies which will be handed to youngsters who find themselves in traumatic situations. Secretary Avril Heaselgrave from the group, said:

“Our ladies have knitted what they call Trauma Teddies for all emergency services in the area. We think it’s important that we do our bit to help those in the community and think they will come in handy for a lot of families."

Oldbury neighbourhood Sgt Gary Capewell is grateful for the kind donation. He added:

“This is such a nice idea and I’m really grateful for the time the group have spent on this. They’ve donated a large number of teddies and we intend to use them to give to children we come across in domestic-related incidents and other situations where a child could use some comfort."

The project is on-going and Sandwell Police are expecting another delivery of teddies from the group soon.