Burglars 'break back in' to return urn filled with ashes stolen from Northamptonshire home

Burglars who stole a funeral urn from a family home have broken back in to return it, nearly two weeks after the theft.

The urn, which contained a woman's ashes, was stolen from the home in Northamptonshire on 28 October by two people.

They arrived in the early hours driving a white van, believed to be either a Ford transit or a Mercedes Sprinter, said police.

But on Monday, the stolen urn was returned to the home in Wicken - though not the other items, which included jewellery, building materials and tools.

PC Will Dyer from Northamptonshire Police said it was unprecedented in his experience as a police officer.

He said: "I’ve been doing this job for nearly 10 years and I’ve never known an offender break back into a property to return something, so this is very much a case of every cloud having a silver lining and it’s why we do what we do.

"However, there are still items missing that also have huge sentimental importance to the victims, so we’re continuing to appeal for anyone with information that could be useful to our investigation to get in touch.

“To the people who returned the urn, we’d especially like to hear from you and if you come to our criminal justice centre, we will have a reward waiting for you.”

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