The parents of a baby girl who spent her first Christmas Day on a ventilator are upset after thieves took hospital charity donations from their car.

Six-week-old Phoebe Thomas was rushed to Good Hope Hospital, Sutton Coldfield, with bronchiolitis last month before being transferred to the University Hospital of North Staffordshire, in Stoke-on-Trent, for a blood transfusion.

But after making a full recovery, Phoebe’s family were dealt a new blow on the day of her christening when thieves broke into her parents’ car and stole £500 of donations to the hospital and all of her presents from relatives and well-wishers.

The break-in, which was today described as sickening by mother Clare Thomas, took place in the car park of the Marston Farm Hotel, in Sutton.

Mrs Thomas, of Dosthill, Tamworth, said: “People had asked us what Phoebe would like as a gift for her naming day and we asked for donations for the Stoke paediatric intensive care team to thank them for making Phoebe better when she was seriously ill over Christmas.

“We had a wonderful day and received so many cards and presents, many of which contained money and cheque donations. At the end of the evening, we stored everything in the boot of our car but the next day we discovered thieves had smashed the window broken the door lock and gained access to the boot.

“They had gone through every single envelope to see what was inside and stolen every card with money in. They also took all of Phoebe’s presents such as her silver christening bracelet.”

Mrs Thomas, aged 36, said the stolen donations totalled £500. The theft came as the family are preparing to move to Dusseldorf, Germany, for husband Michael’s job as a business optimisation manager.

“After Phoebe’s illness and all the stress of the move, this couldn’t have come at a worse time,” said Mrs Thomas, who also has two sons four-year-old Brad and five-year-old Sam.

“Some of the envelopes were marked with the words ‘hospital donation’ so the thieves knew what the money was intended for.”

Baby Phoebe was in Good Hope Hospital for 11 days and Stoke for five.

The theft took place on Saturday, January 16.