HEARTLESS thieves have stolen a woman's prized possession, a soft toy given to her by her mum just before she died.

Helen Holden says she put the toy sunflower in her car to watch over her and her children when they were driving along.

But last Thursday thieves smashed their way into her Maestro car parked outside her home on Settle Street, Great Lever, Bolton.

She had been forced to leave it at home, as she tried to get to work, after discovering it had a flat tyre.

The thieves snatched the cuddly sunflower as well as stealing her car's radio speakers and her collection of tapes.

Now she's pleading for the sunflower to be returned even if they don't send back the other stolen items.

She said: "Some might say it was silly to leave it in my car, but it wasn't to me.

"I put it there on purpose to look over me and my children when we were in the car, since the day that Princess Diana was killed in a car crash.

"It was the last thing that I had been given by my mum before she died. If I could make a desperate plea it would be for the person to return it.

"Please just stop and imagine how you would feel if this happened to you. If you want to make amends you could return it to me via the BEN."

Anyone who wants to return the soft toy can leave it at the BEN's reception desk or post it to us, for the attention of the Newsdesk.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.