A DEVASTATED mum is desperate to get back precious videos of her baby daughter's birth and her later recovery from a terrible childhood illness.

Nurse Dawn Ward, of Rectory Avenue, Lowton, said the tapes meant "everything" to her and begged the thieves who broke into her home to return them.

The raiders broke in while the family were asleep last Friday and took the family camcorder which had tapes charting the recovery of little Olivia, aged one, who was very poorly with a tumour on her stomach.

Dawn said: "My one-year-old had a party last week and we recorded that on tape. It's even got me giving birth on one of the tapes -- which is a bit embarrassing.

"They're priceless. We've not really taken many photographs and we don't have copies of the tapes."

Dawn and husband Anthony, a former professional footballer who now plays for Runcorn, are appealing for the return of the tapes -- contact them on 01942 727049.