A WIDOW has been left devastated after precious photographs of her late husband and late son were stolen from her handbag in a Worcester supermarket.

Jean Preece was heartbroken when she returned home to discover the two irreplaceable photographs had been stolen along with her purse containing £90, cheque book and credit cards. She believes the photographs, which she always carries with her, were taken while shopping in Sainsbury's in Warndon, Worcester.

The disabled 75-year-old of Tolladine Road, Worcester, was in the store on Thursday (November 20) between 11.40am and 1.20pm with her handbag in her trolley when the items were taken. The photographs were back to back in a clear plastic case. The first showed her late son Simon who served in the Royal Navy and his brother Philip, their arms around each other, and the second her late husband John with the family tortoise, Stig.

She believes they were taken while she was in the meat aisle looking at the gammon but cannot be sure as she did not notice the items were missing until she returned home. Staff at Sainsbury's, whom she said had been extremely helpful and kind, later found her credit card case and her cheque book in one of the supermarket's freezers but the photographs have yet to be found.

Mrs Preece said: "I'm not bothered about the money or the credit cards. It's the photographs. They are irreplaceable. I haven't got other ones. In the photograph of my sons were both aged in their 20s with curly hair and beards. They were both so happy. I have no other photograph where they both look so happy."

Her message to the person who took the items was: "Please, please, please drop the photographs in at Sainsbury's or a police station. I don't care about the money. I don't care about the credit cards or the cheque book. The money is gone. I hope it was taken by somebody who needed it. But the photograph is so, so precious. I think they must have mistaken it (the photographs) for my disabled badge because it is a similar size."

When she emptied her handbag and realised the photographs were missing she was 'devastated'.

Mrs Preece, who suffers from crushed vertebrae in her spine, emphysema, arthritis and thyroid problems, said: "If my house burned down the photographs are the thing that I would save."

Mrs Preece praised the kindness of a neighbour and of staff who had searched the store, even looking in bins for the stolen items.

The matter was reported to West Mercia Police. Those with information should call police on 101, quoting incident reference 381-s-201114.