Couple plea for return of laptop photos of tragic baby

Kurt Hines (23) and Katie Smithson (31), of Chad Street, arrived home on Sunday night to find their back door window smashed and the laptop missing which contained family photos and those of three-month-old Lilly-Rose Hines.

Lilly-Rose was born 10 weeks prematurely in October but the couple’s happiness turned to sorrow with her sudden death in January.

A grieving Katie and Kurt say they have been through “hell” already and the break-in has left Katie’s seven-year-old daughter Lydia-Sue Smithson having sleepless nights.

Katie, who works for Bupa in Burnley, said: “It’s devastating and heartbreaking. I’m just thinking, what next?

“It’s so frightening. We didn’t know if they were still in the house. It makes you feel vulnerable.

“These people are complete scumbags. We have been through enough. If you have a heart, give it back or get somebody else to give it back.”

During the burglary, Lilly-Rose’s room which has been left untouched since her death was also disturbed.

Kurt, who can’t work because of the rare moyamoya brain disease, said: “It’s disrespectful. Our property has been invaded, it’s an invasion of our privacy.”

Sgt Kim de Curtis, from Colne police, said: “Dwelling house burglaries are a callous, violating crime and are very upsetting for the victims knowing that someone has been in their home and rooted through their personal possessions.

“These types of crime can scar people for years and make them terrified in their own homes.

“The burglary that has happened to this young couple is heartbreaking, not only are they the victims of a burglary but someone has stolen their laptop containing pictures of their baby daughter who they have recently lost in tragic circumstances.

“Not only that the offender has rooted through their baby’s nursery, the room where precious memories are stored.

“I urge anyone who has information into the whereabouts of this laptop or information about the break itself or those responsible to ring the police on 101 and quote log number 1204/150315.”

The black Toshiba laptop also had £1,000 of DJ software installed and a set of Numark Traktor Pro USB turntables, Superdry headphones in a camouflage pattern and a Dell laptop charger were also taken in the burglary.

Another property in Chad Street was broken into on Sunday when a Mikona tablet, a Go Clever tablet and a green pair of headphones were stolen.

Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously too on 0800 555111 with information on the burglaries.