Robber steals woman’s ‘lifeline’ iPhone after diabetic collapse

A DIABETIC woman yesterday told how she had her £500 iPhone stolen after she collapsed in a coma outside a busy supermarket.

Paula Eastwood, 48, had a seizure brought on by her condition and fell on her face, leaving her battered and bruised from the impact.

But as other passers by helped, one disappeared with the mobile phone she said was her “lifeline” if she is taken ill while away from her home.

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Mrs Eastwood, from Hexthorpe, Doncaster, was taken to hospital and remained unconscious for an hour. She had to have wounds on her face stitched after the fall outside Lidl near her home.

She said: “I was devastated. My phone is with me 24/7. It’s my lifeline. I just can’t believe somebody could go as low as to steal from somebody who is unconscious and obviously needing help.

“I screamed when I saw my face for the first time after my fall. It just wasn’t me staring back. I keep having nightmares about it.

“I stayed indoors for a week after it had happened because I didn’t want anybody to see my face. I just hope whoever has taken it feels guilty about what they have done.”

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It was the first time Mrs Eastwood, who has to have four insulin injections a day and check ups for the condition, had experienced a seizure since she was diagnosed with the condition when she was 22.

“I still can’t understand how anyone could take advantage of the situation when I was lying there injured,” she added. “I could have been dead for all they knew”.

A Lidl spokesman said the firm had passed on CCTV footage to police and thanked staff and other shoppers who had come to the aid of Mrs Eastwood.

Police in Doncaster have appealed for information about the incident.