Doncaster man 'over the moon' as treasured watch stolen in burglary seven years ago is returned

When Aidan Rave’s mum passed away in 2014, having also lost his dad in 1996, he bought a watch to act as a constant reminder of them. It was his intention to pass the watch down through the generations, creating a treasured family memento in honour of his parents.

But that dream was shattered when the family were the victims of a burglary in 2016, and Aidan feared he would never see the watch again.

“I bought a watch, as you tend to look at them frequently throughout the day, so I would have a constant reminder of them with me. I thought I would be creating a timeless link to my parents that I then could pass down to my children, and so on,” said Aidan.

“Of all the trauma associated with the burglary, the loss of that watch was the most acute.

“I had pretty much resigned myself to the fact that the watch was gone and that I’d never see it again. There was always that one per cent of me that hoped I might be wrong – but in reality, I didn’t think it would happen.”

Then, one day in May this year, Aidan got a phone call from Detective Sergeant James Wiggins, who leads Doncaster’s Op Castle burglary response. And he couldn’t quite believe what James had to say.

“He told me that the watch had been located and I just couldn’t believe it after all this time. I was over the moon,” continued Aidan.

“I’m so grateful to James for going over and above in order to get the watch back to me – I can’t thank him enough.”

Det Sgt Wiggins, of South Yorkshire Police, added: “We always do our best to return property to the victims of burglary, and this does happen quite often.

“However to locate an item almost eight years after it was stolen is rare, and I’m really pleased that Mr Rave now has this important piece of his family history back where it belongs.”