"It's an awful event, it's devastating" - Late Second World War hero's medals snatched

Former Desert Rat Sid Rollason died on August 12 after a short battle with cancer.

But crooks wasted no time in targeting his house in Prouds Lane, Bilston, making off with four prized honours.

Mr Rollason, who was a mechanical engineer serving with the 1st King's Dragoon Guards in Libya, Greece and Italy, had his medals proudly framed and on display on his living room wall.

As his heartbroken family organise his funeral, they now find themselves robbed of the emblems of his legacy.

His grandson Paul said: "His funeral is supposed to be in September, and my dad, who is 78, has been trying to organise everything.

"This is the last thing we all needed.

"They've not taken anything else that we've noticed. Though the front door keys were taken so we think they've had them with a view to returning."

He said his son Rory had put an appeal out on Twitter, encouraging anyone who may have information to contact the police. He added: "It's had a lot of shares and retweets, we're just trying to get the word out there so we can get the medals back."

The medals taken were a 1939-45 Star, awarded for the Battle of Britain, which is dark blue, red and light blue in three equal vertical stripes.

Also taken was his Africa Star, for working with the 8th Army in North Africa in 1942-43, which is pale buff with a central vertical red stripe and two narrower stripes, one dark blue and the other light blue.

The Italy Star and a Second World War medal 1939-45 were also taken.

The Italy Star has five vertical stripes of equal width, one in blue at either edge and one in red at the centre, the two intervening stripes being in white. The WW2 medal has a narrow central red stripe with a narrow white stripe on either side. Broad red stripes run down either edge and the two intervening stripes are in blue.

Mr Rollason, who was born and bred in Wolverhampton, died 18 months after his wife Dolly, who was 98 at the time. The couple left behind three children, five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Despite feeling pride for his military achievements, Paul said that Mr Rollason did not share much detail with his family or friends until recently.

He said: "He was in all the hotspots, he was away from home for almost six years. I'm not sure if he ended up as a corporal or a sergeant, but he rose through the ranks and was well respected. Up until very recently he wouldn't speak about his time in the army.

"He always used to just say that war was a terrible business, that was his view.

"I think it was a bit of a double-sided thing for him, he was proud of his time in the army, but he must have seen some terrible things."

When he came out of the army, he first worked on markets then went on to be an engineer working for Goodyear and stayed there until he retired in 1979.

Paul added: "He was a very honest man, a man of integrity, and he had a very dry sense of humour. He liked caravans, and used to have a static one in Bewdley that we used to spend a lot of time in during the summer.

"As he got older he stayed active, right up until his death."

West Midlands Police forensic experts have been combing the scene while officers have been speaking to local residents and trawling CCTV footage. The burglary happened between 9am on August 18 and 7.30am on August 21.

Superintendent Keith Fraser said: "We want to catch whoever has done this, but at the very least we want to get back the medals for his family. Those medals were earned and something that are of great sentimental value."

Anyone with information is asked to call 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.