Panic as Sutton bride's dress stolen just three days before her big day

By Katrina Taylor

Published 14th Dec 2021, 17:00 BST

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A Sutton bridal alterations and fabric shop was trashed by vandals in the early hours of Wednesday morning leaving a devastated bride without a dress just three days before her big day.

Spare Moments and Sew Wedding on George Street in Sutton was targeted in a raid on December 8, stealing a wedding dress, veils and wedding jewellery.

Heartbroken owner Pam Frankham arrived on Wednesday morning to find the whole shop had been destroyed – and quickly realised a wedding dress which was due for collection that afternoon had been taken in the robbery.

Pam had to contact the bride, Claire Ingham, to break the news and set about trying to save her wedding day.

Claire and her husband Dean, pictured on their wedding day.

Claire and her husband Dean, pictured on their wedding day.

61-year-old Pam explained: “The mess was just devastating – shelves had been tipped over and the whole shop had been ransacked – they’d taken anything of value, which included a bride’s dress and all my stock of wedding jewellery.

"Once I realised Claire’s dress had gone, I felt awful and had to contact her.

"She was so lovely about it, and we luckily managed to source a similar dress from La Belle Boutique, which I set about working on immediately to make it look like her original dress.”

Pam managed to recreate Claire’s original dress by adding sleeves and recreating days’ worth of alterations in just 24 hours, meaning Claire was able to marry her fiancé Dean on Saturday December 11.

40-year-old Claire, a Slimming World consultant in the Mansfield area describes receiving the shocking call from Pam on Wednesday.

She explains: “I was supposed to pick my dress up an hour after she rang me.

"She explained what had happened and was sobbing on the phone, bless her.

"I had been so stressed about Covid ruining the wedding, never in a million years did I think my dress would be stolen just three days before.

"The utter heartbreak and devastation can’t be put into words.

"However, the sewing fairy godmother that is Pam went above and beyond to make sure I had something spectacular to wear on the day, and I felt amazing.

"I am so grateful to her for saving our wedding.”

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