Special orthopaedic boots belonging to the two-year-old daughter of Hollyoaks actress Carli Norris have been stolen from outside a hospital in Essex.
The handmade black leather boots, which look like tiny Dr Marten’s, were taken from on top of the parking pay machine at Colchester General Hospital.
The boots had been made to help the little girl walk and a replacement pair will take four months to make.
Police have issued CCTV pictures of two people they want to speak to.
‘Worst fear’
Ms Norris said her daughter, who has a disabling condition in both her feet, had already endured two painful operations.
She told BBC News: “Every day she goes without wearing them her bones are hardening.
“My worst fear is that she’ll have to endure another operation.”
The boots were left behind by Ms Norris’s husband, Gary Turner, after he collected them on 1 August.
He put the boots on top of the pay machine while selecting coins, but was distracted and walked away, leaving the shoes.
When the family returned to the machine, the boots were gone.
Carli Norris has also appeared in the BBC’s Eastenders and Doctors
Police now want to talk to a man and woman, both thought to be in their 50s, who were a few places behind the family in the queue at the machine.
Ms Norris said her daughter wanted to run around, but was unable to walk for any distance in ordinary shoes.
“I can’t bear the thought that someone might buy those boots at a car boot sale, realise they’re no good because of the special insert and just throw them away,” she added.
