Vicar appeals for return of laptop

A church collection, laptop computer and two digital cameras were stolen from the home of a vicar as he and his wife were sleeping.

Reverend Nicholas Dill is appealing for the return of his computer and the memory sticks from two digital cameras because of the sentimental items, including years of photographs and sermons, that they contain.

It was during Sunday night and the early hours of Monday that a burglary occurred at the home of Rev. Dill in Langton Hill, Pembroke.

“Someone came into the house. They had been to the basement and found some gardening gloves and tools and went to the kitchen where they took the collection money from St. Augustine and St. Monica churches, two digital cameras, my wallet and a cellphone,” said Rev. Dill.

Security lights on the outside of the building were unscrewed and a window was removed to gain access to the study where the computer laptop, a backpack and clerical robes were taken.

The church collection money of around $1,000 would not normally have been stored at the house. An anonymous person has since come forward to cover the cost of the missing collection money.

Rev. Dill, of St. John's Church, returned to the Island in the summer after nine years in England. He is particularly keen to recover the laptop and the memory sticks from the digital cameras because of the sentimental value of the pictures they contain.

The laptop is a Novatech model and the cameras are Sony Cybershop. The value of the goods taken is around $3,000.

“The computer contained all my sermons from the last nine years and digital photos from the past three years were on the cameras,” said Rev. Dill, who has asked that the laptop and camera memory cards be returned, either to the Police or to himself at St. John's church in St. John's Road.

A security system that was not switched on at the time of the burglary is now operating.

Rev. Dill said Police suspected that the burglary at his home is linked to another the same night at Saltus Grammar School.

Stolen tapes held family memories

A local doctor is pleading for the return of some mini DV tapes containing priceless family memories - stolen over the weekend from his home in Pembroke.

Dr. Mark Dilton, who lives next to the power station in Pembroke, said his family was house-sitting for someone else when their home was burgled in the early hours last Friday.

He said the thief helped himself not only to a video camera and some jewellery, but also stuck around long enough to eat some ice-cream, drink some rum and have a cigarette.

Despite the loss of the $2,000 camera and jewellery worth some $2,000, Dr. Dilton said the thief took a small box of commercial “valueless” Mini DV tapes (used with the camera) which contained footage of various family affairs, including a wedding.

He said he was in the process of putting them on disc when the robbery took place and if the thief had waited “just a week” he would have completed the transfer.

Dr. Dilton reported the incident to the Police and then heard from neighbours that the thief not only broke into his home, but also the Woodlands Nursery, two other homes and a car in a mini-crime spree over the weekend.

He pleaded for the return of the tapes. Anyone finding them can reach Dr. Dilton at King Edward VII Memorial Hospitaln the box and he would get them.

“They can leave them in ICU, they can leave them anywhere with anyone in the building and I'll get them, please!”

Dr. Dilton can also be reached at 292-7716 should the box of tapes be found “dumped” anywhere on the Island.

Gold rings taken

A thief stole $250 and two gold rings from a home in Marley Beach Drive, Warwick on Wednesday.