Three young girls were found home alone and apparently abandoned on Christmas Eve, it emerged yesterday.
The youngsters had been left with no presents to open and no tree to cheer them up.
While police officers tracked down and arrested their mother on suspicion of neglect, their colleagues organised a whip-round and dashed to the shops before they closed for Christmas to buy some last-minute gifts for the girls.
The incident happened in Gorton – the tough district of South Manchester which originally formed the backdrop of the Channel 4 comedy series Shameless.
Yesterday, after the sisters – all aged under ten – were placed into care, the police support staff spoke of their heartbreak at learning the girls had faced missing out on Christmas.
After a call was made about the trio’s welfare, police officers were sent round to the house and found them by themselves with no one apparently looking after them, no Christmas tree and no presents.
With just hours to go before the shops shut, call handling staff clubbed together to try and ensure they didn’t face a totally miserable Christmas Day.
Pam Wild, 50, said: ‘I just couldn’t bear the thought of the children waking up on Christmas morning with no presents, so me and some of the girls had a whip-round and got them some gifts.’