Kids 'devastated' after man destroys Christmas decoration
A man said his children were left "devastated" after discovering their Christmas decoration had been destroyed.
Kevin Bellis shared CCTV footage of the incident on social media which showed a man running into the £50 Christmas decoration outside his home in Birkenhead, Wirral.
The gingerbread man appears to pop and deflate in the attack, which happened at about 00:15 GMT on Sunday.
Mr Bellis told the BBC it has made him feel like he "can't do anything nice for the kids at Christmas".
He said he only found out about the vandalism when a neighbour told him what had happened on Sunday.
After sharing the CCTV footage on Facebook, Mr Bellis said he was inundated with sympathy and support, with some people offering to replace the figure.
'Brought indoors'
He said: "My kids were devastated to hear that someone had attacked their gingerbread man in the middle of the night and totally destroyed it.
"People have offered me a replacement and I'm extremely grateful for all the support I got on my Facebook post, and also by the generosity of my local community."
He said the family had only bought the decoration three weeks ago, as a companion to another inflatable decoration.
"We've not replaced the gingerbread man yet and have brought the other one indoors until we decide whether to use them outside again," he said.
Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.