A FAMILY devastated by the death of their baby son is appealing for the return of a stolen laptop containing pictures of him.

A crook broke into Sam and Billy Kozar’s home two days after their son Hamish’s first birthday.

As well as stealing a Wii console and PlayStation 3, the burglar took an old laptop containing pictures and sentimental letters to Hamish’s twin Frazier, who died in December, aged four months. Mum Sam had only been gone 15 minutes, but returned to her Old Heath Road home at 4pm on Friday, August 24, to find the back gate open and the electrical goods stolen.

Sam, 33, said: “Two weeks previously someone had stolen a bike, so we had been careful and bolted the gate. “When I came in I could see the sun room had been tampered with. He had even knocked down pictures of Frazier.

“It’s clearly a play room and it makes us feel sick someone could steal from a child.

“We just looked at old footage from our camcorder on it and looked at pictures. Our daughters did homework on it too. “It is about eight years old and doesn’t even have wi-fi, so it’s useless – worthless to anyone else.

“But to us it is priceless. The timing was terrible.”

As well as pictures from Frazier’s funeral, which were e-mailed to the couple, the laptop also contained letters written by his mum and dad and read out during the service.

In a bid to get the laptop back dad Billy, 35, put a sign outside the front of their home appealing for the computer’s return.

He said: “We had just had enough.

“A scumbag had come in, in broad daylight, taken our things and just walked back out on to the street again. It is so blase. It was so quick.

“I was a little hopeful perhaps the burglar walked past every day, saw the sign and had a heart.

“I also wanted to warn other people someone is thieving during the daytime.

“We’ve been out to Cash Converters and around boot sales, as the laptop was so old and covered in tape it would be easily recognisable. “But I don’t think you could sell it, and the crook would probably dump it.”

The family praised Essex Police for arriving quickly and offering care.

l Anyone with information about the break-in should contact Det Con Trevor Clark at Colchester CID on 101, or call Crimestoppers , anonymously, on 0800 555111.