A family home was ransacked in the early hours with sentimental jewelry and £500 worth of Christmas presents taken.
Careless thieves ransacked a family home in the early hours and took sentimental jewelry and £500 worth of Christmas presents.
The robbery, which took place on Alston Gardens in Burnage, saw thieves force entry via the back door before turning the property upside down.
Single mum Rachel Horrocks said the presents, including 37 boxes of LEGO, My Little Pony toy sets, and Frozen jewelry and hair boxes, had all been taken from under the bed and in wardrobes.
“I had been buying Christmas presents since June and I had wrapped them up so my children wouldn’t be able to find them,” Rachel told the Manchester Evening News.
“Whoever did this has actually unwrapped the presents before throwing the wrapping paper all over the floor and bed.”
Rachel, who has two children aged four and seven, said not only will the robbery have a huge impact on her family’s Christmas, but it will also have a devastating impact on seven-year-old son Harry.
“He has autism so the knock-on effects are far worse than anyone can imagine.
“It’s thrown everything off for him. He’s very strict on his routine, everything has to happen at the right time and be in a set place.
“He won’t return home because someone has been in his room, someone has touched all his things and moved them around.”
Rachel said that not only were presents stolen, but priceless jewelry was also taken.
“My grandma died two years ago and all of my jewelry was what she gave me in her will.
“It’s all sentimental to me and can’t be replaced - it’s the things that she specifically left me.”
The jewelry includes five pairs of silver earrings, a 9ct gold bracelet with amber stones, a silver necklace with a butterfly and a pendant that has a message about being a sister.
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Rachel, a catering assistant at a school, said the house was empty as she had an early start for work.
“It was the only night where no one was in and there wasn’t a light on, so it makes me think it’s someone who knows me or has been watching us.”
Rachel said they had only moved into the property twelve weeks ago.
“I’m a single parent with two kids and I work full-time. I work hard to get the stuff they want.
“Because of his autism, we get Harry so much LEGO because he likes to build and do stuff with his hands.”
Rachel says the biggest concern for her is getting Harry to readjust to change, particularly making him feel safe at home.
“It’s going to be so hard to get my son back into the house and get him comfortable.”
She said she doesn’t mind how the items are returned, but really hopes to get them back in order to help rebuild routine into Harry’s life.
“Drop the stuff off anywhere, I don’t need names,” she pleaded.
“Drop it off at the end of the road so I can still try to salvage things and make things more normal, at least over Christmas.”
Anyone with information should contact police on 101, quoting incident number 379 of 15/11/19. Reports can also be made anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
