BURGLARS have ransacked a bride and groom-to-be’s home, forcing them to cancel their honeymoon.
Karen Brotherton and Philip Crabtree were due to tie the knot on February 28 but the work of criminals has also cast doubt over the service.
The pair, 40 and 52, took a short break on February 8 to return to a scene of devastation two days later as burglars cleaned out their home at Longframlington, Northumberland.
Thieves took laptops, jewellery, the couple’s silver Vauxhall Vectra and a suitcase filled with irreplaceable photographs.
“I came up the driveway and I thought: ‘That is funny, where is my car?’ then I started to panic,” Ms Brotherton said.
“I could see through the glass there was a light on and I knew I had turned the lights off. All the cupboards were open and all the drawers.
“I ran back to tell Philip. I could hardly breathe. It was all trashed, all the drawers were open. I was shaking like a leaf.”
The burglars took a selection of Wii games and DVDs, a Dyson vacuum, a Toshiba 17ins laptop, a Samsung Galaxy Tablet, a 15ins Packard Bell laptop, a Sheaffer pen set, £200 of costume jewellery, a Raymond Weil gentleman’s watch and a Seconda ladies watch.
They also ripped from a bedroom wall a safe which contained passports, £4,000 of honeymoon spending money, driving licences, house deeds and £1,500 hearing aids belonging to Philip, who is partially deaf.
Underwater diving equipment, including a camera, and a blue/green hard plastic suitcase were also taken. The case contained all of Karen’s family photos.
“It had all the photos of me as a baby,” she said. “It had all of the little ones, their birthdays and Christmas parties. I can replace all of the other things but I can’t replace these.”
The couple had planned to go to Tennessee so Karen could visit the Jack Daniels distillery for her birthday. Now the bride-to-be feels traumatised and unable to go.
“I just don’t want to go,” she said. “I’m terrified to leave the house.
“I feel like we had a whole future together and we were so looking forward to it but I feel like it has been stolen.”
Karen was dealt a final kick in the teeth when a speeding notice for the stolen car was delivered yesterday morning.
“I have never experienced pain and agony like this in my life,” said Karen. “They have so many personal things of ours that they have no right to have.
“We worked so hard to get this house the way that we wanted it.”
Karen also feels unsure whether she can face the wedding.
“It is supposed to be the best day of my life but I just feel like it has been ruined,” she said.
Detectives are investigating the burglary and are appealing for information.
Neighbourhood Inspector Paul Truscott, said: “We understand how distressing being broken into is and continue to target those we suspect are responsible.
“We’re carrying out inquiries into this burglary and would urge anyone who saw anyone acting suspiciously in the area on the weekend of February 8 to February 10 to contact us.”
Anyone with information should contact 101 ext 69191 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
