Eight-year-old girl bakes hundreds of scones to cheer up elderly neighbours

‘She has such a big heart, she always thinks of everyone else,’ says child’s mother

(PA)

An eight-year-old girl from Belfast has baked hundreds of scones for her elderly and vulnerable neighbours who have been required to self-isolate during lockdown.

Riah Totten started baking after she could no longer participate in her primary hobby: playing football.

Now, she has made more than 300 scones for those living in the Ravenhill, Clonduff, Belvoir and Cregagh areas of Northern Ireland.

Totten’s mother, Amanda Dobbin, has been helping her produce the baked goods.

“She was struggling with the restrictions but she was happy being off because she doesn’t like school anyway,” Ms Dobbin told the Press Association.

“But the cooking started when my mum dropped some baking stuff for the kids.

“Riah would sometimes get obsessed with things so when she started baking scones she got obsessed with it.”

Ms Dobbin said she and her daughter made 120 scones on their first day of baking and then produced another 265 the next day.

“[Riah] has baked plain, cherry, fruit, coconut as well as chocolate chip scones,” she said.

(PA (PA)

Ms Dobbin added that the duo had been awake since 6.30am doing the baking.

“It’s just taken off, she loves it,” she said.

“[Riah] says that Gordon Ramsay inspires her and now thinks she doesn’t need to go back to school because she wants to open a scone shop and work there all day.

“She has such a big heart, she always thinks of everyone else.”