Yahoo News Veteran desperate to be reunited with war medals 130 days after raiders ransacked home
An ex-serviceman is desperate to be reunited with his lifetime collection of war medals - 130 days after they were stolen in a raid on his home.
Geoff Harriman was left heartbroken after burglars took the medals, along with coins and a laptop, after ransacking his Newcastle home in February. Together the items are worth around £10,000.
Geoff, chairman of the Tri-Services Veterans Association in the town, was at a fund-raising event when the break-in happened at his Liverpool Road property. He told the BBC: "To say I am devastated is an understatement and I am still trying to get my head around it.
"The police have been out, forensics have been out, they’ve taken what evidence they can take. They actually went through each room and ransacked each of the drawers, taking things.
“There must have been more than one of them because of the amount of stuff and the size of the stuff."
The stolen items included World War One medals as well as military cap badges, shoulder titles, Roman brooches, Saxon and Viking coins and other items he had been collecting since he was a child.
Staffordshire Police have today (June 13) issued a fresh appeal for witnesses. A spokesman said: "We are re-appealing for information after about £10,000-worth of items were stolen in a burglary in Newcastle-under-Lyme. Officers were called just after 1.10am on Sunday, February 4 to a property on Liverpool Road.
"A selection of medals and coins, a laptop, metal detecting equipment and mobile phones were taken. Officers are urging anyone who may have CCTV or dashcam footage around the time of the incident to get in touch."
Anyone with information should message Staffordshire Police on LiveChat via the website, or call 101 quoting incident number 51 of February 4. Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
