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Woman pleads for return of treasured photo

Sep 4 2011 by Sophie Doughty, Sunday Sun

Diane Mullinger who had her handbag stolen by a sneak thief caught on camera

WHEN a sneak thief ran off with a handbag belonging to Diane Mullinger, he stole not just her week’s wages...but her most treasured possession as well.

Diane lost her mother, Mary Craig, when she was just five and she has carried a small picture of her in her handbag every day for years.

But Diane, a mum-of-two, had her bag taken from the Thinford Inn, near Spennymoor, County Durham, where she works as a kitchen manager.

Friends found it and her purse discarded nearby.

But to her horror, the rest of its contents - including the precious picture - were gone.

The 49-year-old now fears she will never see her mum’s face again.

She said: “I have carried that picture in my bag every day for decades, but it only took him 30 seconds to steal it.

“That picture is so important to me, but he has probably thrown it away like a piece of rubbish.”

Her mum died at the age of 29 after suffering kidney problems.

Diane was separated from her brother and brought up by her grandmother.

Police are working to trace the thief who was caught on the pub’s CCTV system.

More than anything, though, Diane just wants her picture back.

The photo was framed in a small red plastic key-ring.

And Diane is urging anyone who finds it to hand it in to police.

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