A woman had her handbag stolen which contained urns with the ashes of her partner and daughter, police have said.

The victim, a woman in her 70s, had her ‘typical’ black handbag stolen when she placed it in a trolley while shoppng at the YMCA charity shop in Captain Cook’s Square in Middlesbrough. She carried the urns with the ashes of her partner and daughter inside the handbag.

The theft is thought to have happened between 1pm and 2pm on Saturday (Jun 3).

The bag contained two small urns, one black and one silver, which both read “I’ll hold you in my heart until I hold you in heaven” on the front. It also contained £80 in cash, ID cards, an address book and a flip mobile phone.

A woman had two urns stolen with a handbag in Middlesbrough

PC Shaun Murray, from Cleveland Police, said: “We’d like to be able to get the urns back to the woman involved, after all these are irreplaceable and of huge sentimental value. Anyone who may have witnessed the incident or may have come across the bag or the items from within, is asked to contact police on 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously.”

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact police on 101, quoting incident number 106981, or alternatively contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Woman's handbag stolen containing urns with ashes of her partner and daughter