Three kind-hearted girls raising money to help people displaced by war had their fundraising efforts abruptly halted after the table and chair they were using for their lemonade and jelly stand was allegedly stolen.

Mimi, 4, and Lula Bloom, 6, and their cousin Esme Goodwin, 9, had raised about £20.50 to add to the £2,000 raised by a man cycling from Leeds to Calais before their stall was taken on Monday, August 15.

Mimi and Lula's mother Abbey Bloom, 41, a special needs teacher, from Epsom, pledged to double their collection before strangers online pledged to double and triple the money raised. They had eventually raised £140.

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L-R: Mimi, Esme and Lula on their lemonade and jelly stall

The girls took a break at about 2.30pm on Monday because of the heat and after growing disheartened because they had served only four customers in two hours.

But when they returned, reinvigorated, they found that their stall was gone.

“We had been talking about it and it was no the news, but it was Lula’s idea to raise money for the refugee children,” Mrs Bloom explained.

“This was all a lesson in doing good, helping others and showing that they can make a difference to people's lives. To get the stall they were doing it from stolen from outside their own house puts a very murky cloud over what has been a fantastic experience for them.”

Mrs Bloom conceded that it “could have been a mistake”, but said it was unlikely as it was clearly not out for rubbish collection as it was the middle of the day and that the girls had put a “closed” sign on the table.

She said: “I checked on the tables from the windows but didn’t dream that anybody would take them, but after quarter of an hour they were gone.

“It would also have taken a while to take it because it’s a trestle table.”

Your Local Guardian: Children fundraising get their table & bedroom chair stolen from outside their house

The girls had offered to donate the money they raised to Rob Lawrie, a man from Rawdon in west Yorkshire, who quit his job to work full time to raise money for refugees.

Mrs Bloom first heard about Mr Lawrie’s campaign on social media, and by chance, was reminded of his work on the morning of Sunday, August 14 by a Facebook post.

She suggested that Mimi, Lula and Esme could donate whatever money they raised to his GoFundMe page, but the girls were already keen to help people in the Calais camp, often referred to as ‘The Jungle’.

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Lula, 6, (pictured above with Esme and Mimi) said she was happy to have raised money for refugees, but also sad that her and Mimi’s white wicker chair with a pink cushion – a present from their grandmother – and their table taken.

She told the Epsom Guardian: “It just came up in my mind. I wanted to help people.

“I feel happy and sad.”

To donate, visit https://www.gofundme.com/nstkr5tu