SISTERS from Bournemouth are appealing for help after thieves stole their late mother’s wedding ring from the family home.

Sue and Julie Gunner, of Muscliff, discovered the house had been ransacked on Sunday, June 2, and jewellery and a bag of 5p coins taken. To their horror, the wedding ring, which was in a plastic bag marked ‘funeral’, had been taken from a bedroom.

Julie, 67, said: “A glass double door has been smashed, and the door was ajar when Julie went to check on the house. It has really upset me that these people have gone through the desk and rifled through the wardrobe. They have taken all of the jewellery, including the wedding ring, and clearly they have hunted for cash and cards too.”

The house, which was first bought by the sisters’ parents in the 1950s, has been empty for 18 months after Julie moved in with Sue. However, the siblings had been returning regularly to maintain the property.

Julie said she had childhood memories of her late mother Constance wearing some of the stolen items of jewellery.

“It’s terribly upsetting,” she said. “I am going to struggle to go back there. If Sue hadn’t visited, it could have been some time before all of this was discovered. It’s just very mean. The wedding ring is very important to us. It was in a small plastic bag with the word ‘funeral’ on it, so for somebody to take that is awful. My mother died in 2003, and the ring was put in that bag when she passed away.”

She has called on anyone with information to speak to police.

“There is a slim chance somebody has noticed something, and we would ask for them to get in touch,” she said.

The theft is believed to have taken place between Tuesday, May 14 and Sunday, June 2.

A Dorset Police spokesperson asked anyone with information about the incident to call 101, quoting 2:172.

  •  For more information on how to protect your home against burglars, visit dorset.police.uk.