Late daughter’s jewellery stolen in Lincoln burglary

A Lincoln woman is appealing for help after burglars stole family jewellery with huge sentimental value.

Jewellery, including items which belonged to her late daughter, was stolen from the home on Shaftesbury Avenue, Lincoln, on Thursday, December 11 between around 6.30pm and 7.30pm when the homeowners were out Christmas shopping.

The lady, who is 68-years-old and does not want to be named, said that some of the pieces taken were not thought to be worth a lot of money but had great sentimental value.

It is believed an offender or offenders made their way into the house through a rear door.

Once inside, the upstairs bedrooms were searched and a large amount of jewellery was taken but electrical items were left untouched.

She said: “A lot of what was taken meant a great deal to me. Some of it belonged to my late daughter and I’m sure won’t be worth a lot in terms of money but it means a great deal to my family and I.

“We lost our daughter to cancer three years ago when she was just 42. I’m sure the thief wouldn’t know that they had taken Mummy’s jewellery, as she is to my granddaughters, but it’s just despicable that it’s been stolen.

“Some of what was taken were chains all tangled up and rings that my daughter had worn but that had to be cut off when she was ill because her fingers swelled up. Surely taking anything like that, rings that had been cut, would obviously not be worth very much money?

“I had also collected some of it over 50 years of marriage. I treasured an onyx ring that was given to me by my husband and a Christmas necklace from him that had three diamonds in it meaning ‘yesterday, today and tomorrow’. I can’t measure what they mean to me.

“There were also things such as cufflinks that were given to my husband from our late daughter and another set from his parents, and a locket given to me by my mother. It’s all got huge sentimental value to us.

“One really distinctive piece was an amber necklace that we had bought for our daughter from India. It is a beaded necklace and in between each bead is a silvery Indian design that wouldn’t be something you’d see often. That would be really noticeable if anybody sees it anywhere.

“What was also really nasty was that my granddaughter’s piggy bank was also taken by the burglar. She hand-painted it herself and we used to put 5ps and 20ps in it so the girls could buy birthday and Christmas presents for mummy, and we still do it now. There was probably about £12 or £15 in there and it’s just so nasty that that’s been taken too.

“I’d like to appeal to anyone who might have seen any of the jewellery and even to the burglar themselves to please return it to us. I’m hoping they might read this and their conscience might be pricked because I’m sure they haven’t been able to sell it for much money if they’ve tried to do that and it would mean the world to us to have it back.”

As well as the jewellery already mentioned above, a number of other items were stolen including a five gate bracelet; a gold Accurist watch and a silver Guess watch; a silver diamante bangle; a gold necklace with three strands; and a gold ring with a large square brown-coloured stone.

Officers investigating the burglary would like to hear from anyone who might have any information about the incident or anyone who might have seen any of the jewellery or been offered it for sale.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Lincolnshire Police on 101 quoting incident 385 of December 11 or contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously one 0800 555 111.