Autistic youngster cries tears of joy as Dundee Asda staff rescue her beloved plush toy

An autistic youngster cried tears of joy after her beloved plush dog was rescued by staff at a Dundee Asda.

Ashton has had Violet since she was a baby and uses her to keep her calm and grounded.

But one day she fell out of her bag as she walked to college.

A passer-by found the toy and put her on the wall of the car park of the Asda in Kirkton.

They also posted a photo of the item on Facebook page Lost, Found and Missing Dundee.

Ashton’s family saw the post and arrived at the supermarket expecting to collect the plush.

But to their horror Violet had disappeared.

The family scoured the area with torches and even looked in bins – but to no avail.

Asda Kirkton worker comes to the rescue

But help was at hand in the shape of Gordon, a security officer at Asda in Kikton.

Through a painstaking search through CCTV tapes he spotted that Violet had been taken down from the wall by a cleaner colleague who had spotted her but didn’t know who she belonged to.

The store’s community champion Sam got in touch with the family and Ashton’s grandma Myra and mum Shelly were at the store within minutes to collect Violet.

Shelly said: “We are so grateful to Gordon; he’s a hero. We were all blown away by the kindness of everyone. It just shows the power of community.

“Ashton was absolutely distraught when she’d lost Violet – she got her for her first Christmas.

“She takes her everywhere with her and helps her to navigate new situations.

“Ashton struggles to see the world without Violet beside her.

“She’d just started a life skills course at college and was taking Violet there when she somehow fell out of her bag.

“She burst into tears when she got Violet back; she was over the moon.”