'He's gone': Family devastated as dad's ashes are 'stolen' after garage is 'broken into' in the early hours

A family have been left devastated after their dad's ashes were reportedly stolen when their garage was broken into in the early hours.

Sarah Hill said her mum called her and shockingly told her 'your dad has gone' after a neighbour informed her that they had noticed the garage door had been prised open on Tuesday (September 19).

The family, from Bury, had planned to eventually scatter Nigel's ashes, who died in January from pancreatic cancer at the age of 72, at local Woodbank Cricket Club, where he was a much-loved odd job man and member of the community.

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But those plans have now been thrown into disarray after Sarah claims her mum's outdoor garage was broken into in the early hours of Tuesday morning, with a number of Nigel's expensive power tools stolen along with his ashes that were inside in a box.

"My dad died in January of this year and we had him cremated with a wonderful wake after," Sarah told the M.E.N. "We picked up his ashes and decided to put them on his work bench in the garage - it was his favourite place and he was always in there fixing and mending things. We thought he'd be the happiest there.

"We were planning to scatter his ashes at Woodbank as he was an odd job man at the cricket club and wanted to have them scattered there. We were going to do it privately as a family to spend time with him and say goodbye."

It was only when a concerned neighbour noticed the door to the garage was slightly open that