Police launch investigation after family have dad's ASHES stolen from garage

Police have confirmed they have launched an investigation after a family had their dad's ashes stolen from a garage, with the ordeal leaving them 'terribly upset'.

Sarah Hill, whose dad Nigel died in January aged 72 and was cremated, 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 morning (September 19).

The family, from Bury, had planned to eventually scatter Nigel's ashes at the local Woodbank Cricket Club, where he was a much-loved odd job man, but have now been left devastated and 'lost for words'.

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Sarah's mum Susan had her outdoor garage broken into in the early hours of Tuesday morning, at around 4.30am, with a number of Nigel's expensive power tools stolen along with his ashes that were inside in a light green box in a bag on his work bench.

"My mum opened the side door and the first thing she noticed was my dad's ashes had gone. Under the workbenches some power tools have also gone missing from locked cabinets that had been prised open," Sarah previously told the M.E.N.

"We don't know if they [the thief] looked in the bag or not. It was a rectangular light green box in a burgundy bag that we had picked up from the funeral directors. Every time I went into the garage I would say 'hi dad'.

"We are just absolutely lost for words. My mum called me and I could tell in her voice something wasn't right. She said, 'your dad's gone'. He was such a much-loved member of the