Burglars steal precious footage of mum's sick son

A Rotorua mum is pleading for the return of "irreplaceable" video footage of her sick son after burglars smashed their way into her home and ransacked the place.
The woman, who did not want to be identified, arrived home on Sunday morning to find burglars had smashed her ranchslider and broken into her flat while she and son Jake, who suffers from seizures, were spending the night at her parents' house.
The thieves stole baby monitors she used to help alert her when her son had a seizure, as well as video footage of him before he became ill.
Jake is severely ill and had only recently been discharged from hospital.
"He had been in hospital for just over a week because his seizures were getting worse but he's a lot better now," the woman said.
"He's had a bad run."
Jake became ill about three years ago when he stopped eating and started losing the ability to stand up. Doctors have been testing Jake for three years but he has not been diagnosed. He continues to have seizures and can't walk, talk or eat properly.
Among the items stolen by the burglars on Sunday were a video camera and disks with footage of Jake before he became ill. That footage of her son is "irreplaceable" to his mum and of everything that was stolen, she most wants the disks returned.
"I would love to have the footage of my son in happier times," she said. "Just to get some nice pictures, things to remember him when he was well."
The burglars also took baby monitors.
"Normally I hear him anyway [if he has a seizure at night] but it's my back-up in case I'm really tired. It's for my peace of mind."
The woman, who works part-time as a nurse, said she felt violated, as the burglars had gone through everything in her flat.
The flat was "a big mess", she said. The burglars had pulled couch covers off, rifled through packs of cards and pulled all her recipe books out of her kitchen cupboard.
"It was ransacked," she said. "All our clothes were out of our drawers, the sheets were pulled up over the bed, [Jake's] mattress was turned upside down."
Special bags of food for Jake had also been opened and some of the labels ripped off. The woman said the special food and medication would have shown anyone that a sick child lived in the house.
A green sports bag with two side pockets and a white panel with a Lacoste emblem on one side of the midsection of the bag, was taken. The burglars also took her pink guitar, which was in a soft black carry case and stole ready-made meals from her freezer, a DVD player, a wooden jewellery box containing family jewellery, the woman's cell phone charger and all the money from Jake's money box. They also switched the power off at the flat.
The woman and her son are now staying with her parents while her door is repaired and security at her flat is improved.
"You just don't feel safe until it's fixed," she said.
They had been living in the flat for just over a year.
The woman is appealing to anyone who might have seen any of these items to contact her through The Daily Post or to contact the police.
TIPS TO DETER BURGLARS
-Have a burglar alarm installed
-If you are going away, get someone you trust to keep an eye on your home
-Improve the locks on your doors
-Install motion-sensor security lights
-Join a Neighbourhood Support group
-If you're going away, leave your curtains open so it looks like someone's at home but don't leave items of value in clear view