Read the heartbreaking letter by a five-year-old asking a burglar to return family mementos

The family returned home from holiday in Devon to find that their house in Victoria Park Road, Smethwick, had been ransacked.

Father Mo Talib, 41, sat down and explained to his three children what had happened, prompting his five-year-old to write the heartfelt message.

In the letter, which has been posted on social media, the children beg thieves to return the stolen photos and hours of video footage stored on CDs, a hard drive and on a laptop.

Mr Talib, who works in customer services, said the traumatic experience was made worse by the irreplaceable items being taken.

He said: "The photos and videos were of irreplaceable family memories, showing the children’s first steps, words, holiday memories and lots of other things.

"I knew something was going on the minute I returned from holiday and saw that my car had gone. My wife called the police and we were in shock.

"They have taken a significant amount of money and jewellery and all the footage of the children growing up. My eldest is 14, so this is many years worth.

"My children were scared to come into the house. I had to explain what had happened and my daughter was making a mental note of what I was saying so, with help from my son, she started to write a letter to the thieves.

"She wrote 'dear burglar' and it went from there."

Mr Talib took his wife and three children on holiday last Friday.

They were supposed to come home on Monday but decided to return earlier on Sunday night instead.

When they returned home, Mr Talib realised that his car, an Audi TT, was missing and the the kitchen window was open.

The letter reads: “Please give back our photos and videos. They are memories recorded of my birth, learning to talk, to walk, celebrating birthdays, reading my first book, my first family day out [and] my first day at school.”

He says that the thieves took everything, including the family’s passports, money and jewellery.