A YOUNG couple were devastated when thieves stole the £400 pram they and their family had saved for months to buy for their new baby.

Eleven-week-old Charley Stacey is now housebound as his parents Charlotte Pilkington and Paul Stacey cannot afford to replace the pram.

Charlotte, 26, also had all her diabetic equipment, including insulin and needles, stolen from her car when the thieves struck between 2.45pm and 3.45pm on Sunday.

She is a staff nurse at Queen's Park Hospital, Blackburn, and was taking baby Charley, her first child, to show her friends on the ward.

She had parked her car near the hospital boiler room and the intruders forced open the boot.

Charlotte and Paul, of Whalley Road, Clayton-le-Moors, have contacted second-hand shops and say they are prepared to offer a reward to get the pram back.

Charlotte said: "We had been paying it off a month at a time, because it was so expensive.

"Charley had a bit of a bad start. He was six weeks premature and was in an incubator and had to be ventilated as he stopped breathing.

"I can't take him out as I had to have a Caesarean and doctors advised me not to lift.

"We're not in a financial position to buy another. We're just devastated that someone has done this to us."

The couple had bought the Bebecar Pulsar from the One Stop Baby Shop in Blackburn. Staff say it is the only one of its kind they have sold.

It is standard size in dark green, with a green carrycot, green checked hood and green and white stripes inside.

The thieves also escaped with a crocheted mint green blanket, a camera and a rucksack full of baby clothes, toys and milk.

Anyone with any information can contact either Blackburn police on 01254 51212 or Charlotte on 01254 385227.

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