Two Arcadia siblings have been left devastated after thieves broke into their home and stole 16 precious family war medals.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
The medals which belonged to Amelia and James Batchelor's father, grandfather and great great-grandfather, were just some of more than $10,000 worth of items thieves stole from their property.
The siblings have put out a desperate plea for the community to come forward with any information they have regarding the stolen medals which date back to WWI.
“Dad passed away a couple of years ago and he left his great-grandfathers', on both his mother's and father's side, full sets of war medals from WWI,” Ms Batchelor said.
“He also left a full set of war medals from his dad from WWII and his own Australian Army Service medal as well ... there was a total of 16 medals.”
Mr Batchelor said thieves attended their property last Wednesday while he was at work, cutting a padlock on the front gate of the property to gain entry.
Mr Batchelor said his Yamaha YZ450 motorbike was stolen from the back shed along with the contents of a safe located inside the house and dozens of items including their father's coin collection and family jewelry.
“The more I walked around I felt it must have been people who had sussed me out for a bit and had come in and known what they were doing and known what they were looking for,” he said.
“Even the way they got in the safe it's obviously someone who has done that before because they’ve spent some serious time on it - probably brought their own tools as well.”
The safe, which was located inside the laundry, and Dyna-bolted to the floor and wall, had been partially ripped from the wall, with thieves gaining access to the contents by breaking the door.
Mr Batchelor said thieves also trashed the house, searching through most of the draws and cupboards to find items of value.
While dozens of items were stolen, Ms Batchelor said the family were just hoping to have the war medals, which were engraved with their family's names, returned.
“We would like to recover these medals, that's the most important thing ... they were owned by our dad they're very sentimental to us,” she said.
“They're something, especially with the great-grandfathers', we can't replace because they're British medals so they're very, very difficult to get replicas.”
Shepparton police First Constable Luke Arrowsmith confirmed the investigation into the theft was ongoing.
Anyone with any information about the incident is urged to contact the Shepparton Police Station on 5820 5777.
Alternatively a confidential report can be made via Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or at www.crimestoppers.com.au