Nottinghamshire Police appeals for information after burglary in Winthorpe sees items including sentimental bracelet stolen

A heart-broken mum is urging those who stole priceless jewellery belonging to her late husband from her home in Winthorpe to return it.

Louise Blyth lost her husband George, father to their two children, to bowel cancer in 2016 when he was just 33, and their children were aged just one and three.

She later wrote a book — Hope is Coming: A true story of grief and gratitude — about her experiences of grief and finding comfort through her Christian faith.

After George’s death, she had a crucifix bracelet made from her wedding ring (pictured here) when she married her husband Colin in 2020.

She said: “I had my marriage stolen from me and when I married Colin, I didn’t want my beautiful rings to be taken from me too, so I had my ring made into a cross as a symbol of my hope and faith.”

But on Wednesday night (December 11) at 5.11pm, Louise’s house was broken into while picking her son up from school.

Her husband Colin called a neighbour to ask them to check the house when the alarm sounded as it was initially thought that their Christmas tree had fallen over.

But when the neighbour went to the house, he found a side window smashed and open, so he called the police.

The offenders ransacked the house and stole many high value items, mainly jewellery, and the precious bracelet made of Louise’s ring was one of the items stolen.

“The bracelet means more than any money,” Louise said, “It’s very profound that that that’s what was stolen — but they can steal my cross, but they can’t steal my faith.

“They have no idea of what the bracelet truly means.

I’ve said a prayer for the thieves that even though they’ve taken this bracelet, even if they don’t give it back, that they find some meaning in it.

“People must be desperate to steal these sorts of things, and must be in a very bad situation, so I’ve prayed for the person that did it and I want the cross to mean something to them.”

Louise added that the family have never had a video doorbell or similar devices, but have now had to install CCTV cameras:

“When someone invades your privacy like that, you want to to do something to make your home feel more secure.”

Nottinghamshire Police have confirmed that a designer Chanel handbag, jewellery, and antiques including an antique silver teapot and sugar bowl were all stolen in the burglary.

Muddy footprints were left across the house, while items were found scattered everywhere.

Sergeant Mark Walker, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “We’re determined to track down whoever was responsible for this break-in, which has understandably left the homeowner very upset.

“Bearing this in mind, we’d ask that anyone who saw or knows anything about what happened, and hasn’t contacted the police yet, does so right away.

“We’d also ask people to check any CCTV, doorbell, or dash-cam footage from the area around this time, as it could assist our investigation.”

Any information can be shared with the police by calling 101, quoting incident 545 of 11 December 2024, or by reporting it anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.