One Sunday evening recently a thief broke in through my parents’ bedroom window while they sat down stairs, stealing money and jewellery.

My mum has been left heartbroken by the loss of her engagement ring, designed by my dad almost 40 years ago. This has most likely gone forever, along with countless other pieces of irreplaceable sentimental value that recalled anniversaries, birthdays and lost relatives.

As a family, we’re appalled at this total lack of respect for our home, belongings and memories.

With so much evil and wrongdoing in the world, reported daily in the newspapers and on television, it’s too easy to begin feeling immune and disconnected from it all.

Sometimes the only way to cope with it is to carry on as normal, with the perception that all these things are happening in a different world to the one in which we live. The vast majority of these acts are far worse than anything that’s happened to my family, and I’m grateful that we are relatively fortunate.

However, events like these literally bring home the realisation that we live among people who never learned, or just don’t care about, the fundamental difference between right and wrong.

My fear is that long after our anger and hurt have faded my family will remain robbed of our faith in human nature, and that would be a far greater loss than even the most precious jewellery.

EC, Wednesbury.