'Distinctive' urn with woman's ashes stolen from Northamptonshire home

ang 021123 distinctive urn with woman's ashes stolen from wicken, northamptonshire. credit northants police
The wooden urn has a personalised inscription and carvings of field mice on the lid. Credit: Northamptonshire Police

Burglars broke into a home and stole an urn containing a woman's ashes.

Police said it was "truly awful" that "something as personal as a loved one's ashes" was stolen from the property in Wicken, Northamptonshire, in the early hours of Saturday.

Two people arrived in the Wicken Park Road area in a white van, believed to be a Ford Transit or Mercedes Sprinter.

They then broke into the unoccupied house, which is under renovation, and the outbuilding - and took a wooden urn, jewellery, building materials and tools.

The urn is very distinctive, police say, with a personalised inscription and carvings of field mice on the lid and snowdrops, bluebells and holly around the base.

The distinctive carvings on the base of the stolen urn Credit: Northamptonshire Police

A Northamptonshire Police spokesperson said: “Any burglary is distressing but the theft of something as personal as a loved one's ashes is truly awful.

"We're appealing to anyone with any information that could help us recover this urn to do the right thing and get in touch with us urgently.”

Anyone with information about the burglary - which happened between 1am and 3am on 28 October - is asked to contact Northamptonshire Police.

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