A little girl from Poole was left heartbroken on her eleventh birthday after money was stolen from three greetings cards.

It was an unlucky Friday 13 for Lucy Patrick who missed out on £45 sent from her aunts and grandmother when distinctive pink envelopes arrived already opened.

Mum, Debbie, a health club receptionist, said her daughter’s memory of her eleventh birthday had been tarnished by the thefts.

“People have asked Lucy if she had a nice birthday and she’s said, ‘Yes, but my birthday money was stolen’. She was so disappointed. No child deserves that,” said Debbie.

Lucy had been saving for a Me to You rug, and wanted an iTunes voucher to buy songs to play on her parents’ present – a brand new iPod.

Now fuming dad, Bill, is desperate to warn other families not to send cash over the festive period in a bid to avoid an unhappy Christmas.

“I’m just trying to warn people not to send cash in Christmas cards, or even vouchers. It’s much safer to send a cheque,” said Bill, a maintenance manager.

Two of Lucy’s three empty cards arrived the day before her birthday. Twenty pounds was missing from a card sent from Rhyl in North Wales by her grandmother and £15 was missing from a card sent by an aunt from Manchester.

“I complained at the sorting office at Alder Hills. The man kept the envelopes and gave Lucy her cards. But she said she wasn’t supposed to see them until her birthday and turned away quickly,” said Debbie.

The next day an opened pink envelope sent by an aunt in Merseyside dropped onto the doormat but was missing a £10 note.

A Royal Mail spokesman said: “We are always sorry to learn of any problem with our services. We are making enquires and will contact the customer directly. We would always advise using our special delivery service when sending cash or items of monetary value as the service tracks items throughout their journey and offers insurance. ”