A MUM is today overwhelmed by the generosity from well-wishers after her desperate plea for pasta for her autistic son during the coronavirus outbreak.

Tabatha Stirling, from Edinburgh, couldn’t find any pasta for her 12-year-old son Teddy who has Asperger’s and a selective eating condition because shameless panic-buyers were raiding supermarket shelves.

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She said that penne is the only pasta he can eat and took to Twitter to ask if anyone could help her locate some because her son has “very restricted eating”.

Her son’s condition is common in autistic kids and as a result certain smells, textures and colours can put the off their food.

But she was stunned to see her local shop had been almost emptied as people continue to panic-buy despite stores issuing strict rules and limiting customers to buying three of each item.

HEARTBREAKING PICS

One poignant image showed an elderly woman staring at empty shelves in her local Tesco store in Kent after it was announced 20,000 troops are ready to join the fight against coronavirus.

The death toll has now reached 137 in the UK with confirmed cases up to 2,692.

And Brits are now rushing to stores to buy food items, toilet roll and soap – the day after a heartbreaking picture of an elderly man staring at empty shelves shamed panic buyers.

Hello, does anyone have penne pasta? My son is autistic and has very restricted eating. Penne is the only pasta he ‘can’ eat.

Tabitha told Edinburgh Live: “It really ramped up this week, I took my five-year-old after school to Sainsbury’s and it was shocking.

“That really nailed it down, there was an older lady that passed me and she said this is like when the war was on and there was rationing, but there was more food on the shelves during the war than now.”

She then posted an appeal on Twitter: “Hello, does anyone have penne pasta?

PASTA LOVE

"My son is autistic and has very restricted eating. Penne is the only pasta he ‘can’ eat.”

Her message soon went viral and received more than 200 messages and tweets of generous offers.

Restaurant chain Prezzo invited her to visit the branch in Edinburgh for a bag of her son’s favourite pasta.

Tabatha said: “I’ve had four packets sent to my house already and there seems to be more to come. Some people just found me on Facebook and said ‘I’ve got two packets they’re yours’.

“I’m so grateful and appreciative, it shows that social media can be used for the power of good.”

She added: “I was so appreciative and it shows now things like autism are taken very seriously, nowadays it is clearly being seen as being important to support.

“In a crisis the good and the bad come out but the good always comes out stronger, which is lovely if you’re on your own, having strangers looking out for you.”

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