A £500 reward has been offered to trace a hand built guitar that was among a haul of thousands of pounds worth of goods stolen from a family by a man they trusted as their gardener.
Among the goods taken were their car, bikes, jewellery, computers, phones, family heirlooms and their stereo system.
Angela Hall, of Tydd St Mary, said they thought they were helping the Sutton Bridge man by offering him gardening and odd job work.
But he paid them back by breaking into their home while they were on holiday visiting their daughter in America, and helped himself to everything valuable.
Graham Pinsent is now behind bars after a judge sentenced him to six years in jail.
Angela said; “The list is endless and we are heartbroken. We are insured but the sentimental items are irreplaceable.
“The man charged responsible is an ex-offender we employed as a gardener for 18 months.
“Thanks to the power of Facebook and the incredible number of shares of my original post, he handed himself into the police in October and was given the maximum sentence of six years.
“However, he didn’t help the police to recover any of our possessions, although two bikes have been found locally and returned.
“We realise that the jewellery, sentimental family items, hi-fi, computers, phones, TVs are long gone, but would dearly love to be reunited with the guitar that was hand built over seven years by my husband.
“It is a Gibson Les Paul copy with no name or serial number on it, and unusual zebra pick-ups, as highlighted.
“We are offering a £500 reward for its return. The thief was captured on CCTV trying to sell this in Cash Converters, Luton, but without paperwork they refused to buy it.
“Please keep your eyes open and contact me if you see it or know where it is, and please share this far and wide.”
The family said that Pinsent somehow managed to get a copy of their front door key and: “helped himself to every single valuable item.”
Pinsent, of Chestnut Terrace, Sutton Bridge, pleaded guilty to burglary at Lincoln Crown Court where he was handed a prison sentence.
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