Birmingham soldier loses legs in Afghanistan horror

Aug 14 2009 by Nick McCarthy, Birmingham Mail

They were destined for Tyler, and his comrades. Tyler had handed his mum a list of names of Fijian soldiers and others who were serving with him, but were not getting any morale-boosting parcels and packages.

At the time Tyler’s 72-year-old grandmother, Edna Wilson, who also lives in Erdington, said her daughter had focussed on the package collections to take her mind of the danger her son was in.

“These crooks probably never worked a day in their lives and they are stealing from brave young lads who are laying down their lives. It’s despicable that people can come along and do this.”

The boxes were filled with bags of dry pasta, flip-flops, socks, games and toiletries.

The donations have all been collected from Birmingham firms and well-wishers, and they were taken as Julie stayed with her brother.

The thieves stole the parcels between 11pm on Thursday July 23 and 7am on Friday July 24. Anybody with information about the theft should contact officers at Queen’s Road police station on 0845 113 5000 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.