Thief steals Patricia's precious pictures

A PENSIONER has appealed for the return of a camera containing priceless photographs after it was stolen when her home was raided by burglars while she was upstairs.

Patricia Wheway (67), who has a pacemaker for a serious heart condition, had her car, phone, camera and cash stolen from her home on Sheepcote Road, Brecks.

She is now appealing for the raiders to return her camera's memory card, which contained pictures from her nephew’s wedding and a holiday to Lesbos—her first trip abroad.

The car, a grey Vauxhall Meriva, was recovered by police after Saturday’s incident which happened at around 11pm.

Patricia said: “I was loading my car up for the morning and decided to keep the front door open slightly.

“It all happened within a couple of minutes, I went upstairs to get something and didn't even know they had been in.

“My phone had gone missing, along with my handbag and camera. It’s just a horrible feeling when something like your car is just taken from outside your home.”

Shaken Patricia had been loading her car with home-made cakes, which she sells through local schools, but then went upstairs just moments before the raiders struck.

“I’m more concerned about the pictures because they mean so much to me and you can't buy those sort of memories,” she said.

“All I want back is the memory card from the camera, that’s it. They can keep everything else as far as I'm concerned.”

Patricia’s disabled certificate, which exempts her from wearing a seatbelt because of her heart condition, was also taken.

“It just amazes me why they would take the certificate, I  can’t imagine why they would want it,” she said.

“I am due to have a replacement pacemaker soon, and things like this do not exactly help my health.

“The police have said I was lucky to be upstairs at the time because things could have been so much different.

“I just feel as though I’m having a nightmare and keep thinking I’ll wake up anytime now.”

Police confirmed that they were investigating the incident.