A HAMPSHIRE care home owner returned from an Australian holiday to discover burglars had stolen £20,000 of uninsured jewellery from her home.

Jodie Cox, 27, found that the gems, including a £10,000 ring, had been taken from her bedroom at her house in Whiteley.

But after informing police she heard nothing for several weeks. It was only after she phoned Fareham police station she was told the investigating officer was off sick.

Now police have issued an appeal for help in catching the thieves.

But Jodie fears the jewellery, including a rare photograph of her father who died when she was 20 months old which she kept safe in a gold locket, has been lost forever.

Jodie has appealed directly through the Daily Echo to those who have snatched away the precious memories of her late father, Stephen, asking them to return them to her.

"It has broken my heart," said Jodie who owns two care homes in Hampshire.

"Those pieces of jewellery were unbelievably precious to me, the value is not important it was what they meant to me. If anyone knows anything about where they are please call the police.

"Along with the photos a small gold bell was stolen, that was given to my mum by my dad when they first met. It is worth nothing at all financially but it means so much to me. It is irreplaceable."

The break-in at her home on Bluebell Way, Whiteley, happened on September 17 while Jodie was on a three-week break to Australia.

She provided descriptions to police when she returned at the end of the month but owing to the officer being off sick details of the burglary have only just been released.

"I rang them up to see what was happening because I had heard nothing, I was told about the officer being off and I think it just must have been waiting for him to return."

Among the items stolen was a unique bespoke tanzanite and diamond studded, platinum ring worth £10,000.

It had been was bought for Jodie for her 21st birthday by her mother Patricia while in the Caribbean. Another of the stolen items was her late grandmother's engagement ring.

"It is those things that can never be replaced. If my television or laptop had been stolen then I could earn more money to pay for them but these things I can't ever replace."

Det Con Keith Huelin, who is now investigating the crime, said: "We would like to hear from anyone who knows anything about this incident."

Contact Det Con Huelin on 0845 045 4545, or the Crimestoppers line on 0800 555 111.