Diamonds and jewellery worth £10,000 along with irreplaceable Goodyear long service pins have been stolen by burglars in Penn, police revealed this afternoon.

Dozens of items were stolen including a Krugerrand ring, belcher chains and a gold band with encrusted diamonds

Four Goodyear pins were also taken. They were given to the 43-year-old victim by her father, a 65-year-old former manager who spent 32 years with the tyre maker.

The woman, a carer at Abbey Lodge care home in Tettenhall, Wolverhampton, who asked not to be named, told this afternoon how she returned to her home in Saffron Gardens to find it had been ransacked.

She appealed for the items of sentimental value – including jewellery handed down by grandparents – to be returned.

“I just feel empty – I don’t care about the money,” she said.

“My father worked hard for these pins. You can replace gold, but you can’t replace a person’s life.”

The burglary happened between 7.40am and 3.20pm last Friday,

Dc Paul Webb, from Wolverhampton CID, appealed for anyone with information to come forward. He also asked jewellers, pawn shops and auction houses to watch out for the distinctive items.

Dc Webb can be contacted on 0345 113 5000.