A TEACHING assistant is appealing to members of the public to help find bags of precious letters which were stolen from her car.

Ellie Nicholson, from Foxfield, returned to her car last Thursday evening to find shattered glass on the seats and goodbye gifts from schoolchildren stolen.

The 27-year-old was working as a higher-level teaching assistant at Allithwaite Primary School but left to take on further training to become a teacher.

Having enjoyed her last day of term, Miss Nicholson was inundated with gifts, cards and letters from staff and children alike but was devastated to find they had been stolen when she returned to her car, which was parked in the lay-by near to the Brettargh Holt roundabout.

Miss Nicholson said: "I got back to my car at about 10 o'clock and was just about to get back in the car when I noticed all the kids' presents I left in the footwell weren't there anymore.

"I then noticed that there was glass on the seat and on the back seat.

"Before I left, I took my purse and phone out of my bag and put it behind the seat. It was a big bag and I didn't need it, but that was stolen too."

After reporting the incident to the police, Miss Nicholson was reassured that the thieves had probably dumped the bags in a nearby area after discovering that there was nothing of substantial value.

Determined to recover these prized possessions, Miss Nicholson returned to the scene with family members to see if they could find any trace of the stolen bags.

Having no luck, Miss Nicholson is now appealing to members of the public to help her in her search for the cards and letters which hold so much sentimental value.

She said: "There were cards in there that I hadn't even read yet.

"It's just the thought that these children made so much effort to write to me and I will never know what they said.

"It means nothing to them but everything to me. The police said they probably just ran, looked and left them.

"We've looked everywhere but haven't seen anything."

Miss Nicholson is now asking everyone in the area to keep an eye out for anything that could be the stolen letters, including a big, pink bag with an owl print.

Anyone who finds something that could belong to her is asked to contact her on Facebook.

She said: "It would mean such a lot to get it back. I don't care about the car or the handbag. I just want the cards back. They're just priceless."

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