A FAMILY has been left heartbroken after their home was ransacked and stripped of family heirlooms in a callous burglary the day after Christmas.

Engaged couple, Rachel and Nick, and their newborn son had been enjoying their Christmas festive season together at a family member's home in Crouch End when they got the alarm call from their neighbours on Boxing Day.

Nick returned to house in Bush Hill Park to find the insides of cupboards and drawers ripped out and tossed on the floor and anything of worth had been stolen.

But among the hundreds of pounds worth of electrical goods, champagne given to the pair in honour of their engagement stolen, was priceless sentimental items.

It included his late father's watch, a pair of Asprey cufflinks his father had given him as a gift, and engagement and wedding rings that belonged to his mother Pat who died from cancer in 2008.

They had hoped to hand the rings down generation from generation so her memory would live on.

His fiancée has now gone public with their grief in a last-ditch attempt to get the precious items back.

Miss Oakes said: "Of course, we're angry our home was burgled, but those are impersonal things that can easily be replaced. It's the sentimental things that really hurt. For a family, those items were invaluable but if the burglars take it to a pawn shop, they're not going to get anything for it. That's what is so heartbreaking about this.

"If anyone comes across this ring in the next few days then please contact the paper and turn this sad story into a good Samaritan story. Losing such a symbolic piece of Pat that could keep her memory alive really hurts especially at this time of year when her sons are really feeling the fact she's not here to celebrate Christmas with us."

Pat's engagement ring is described as gold with a cluster of about five diamonds with one diamond in the middle to form the shape of a flower.

Miss Oakes added: "It won't be worth much as Pat used to do the gardening with it on and the stones are almost worn flat, but to her sons this ring is priceless and another link to their mother that has now been lost."

Enfield police fear the burglary was carried out by experienced burglars because of telltale signs such as bolting the front door to prevent being caught in the act and pouring liquid on the floor to contaminate any evidence.