Like many of our readers, I was horrified this week to hear about the disgusting attack on a charity fundraiser's possessions which left her tent slashed and boots filled with urine.
Philanthropic Tracey Hannam has been walking the length of Britain's coast to raise money for the RNLI. But her trip was soured last Sunday when she pitched up near Whitburn Beach and suffered the appalling act of vandalism, along with the theft of some of her possessions.
Police, who are investigating the incident, called the behaviour of the people who took advantage of Tracey as she wandered away from her tent to look for sea glass 'totally unacceptable', and I couldn't agree more. But my heart has been warmed by the response of people who are far more representative of our wonderful, welcoming region.
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Tracey said she was 'amazed' by the kindness of those who rallied round to help, from the local strangers who paid for her to stay in a hotel that night to the nearby lifeboat stations who helped repair her tent and bought some new boots. Her Facebook page shows that, in the days since, she's been showered by support as she continues to make her way up our coast.
That's much more what I'd expect from the welcoming North East we all know and love. These criminals have let down our region, which should be a place where all visitors - especially those on such a laudable mission as Tracey's - feel safe, a place to which they want to return.
