Return dead mum's pics, woman begs

The theft from a motorhome in Wembley Park on Friday night has left an Auckland woman without precious images of her late mother.

Davida Brown, from Silverdale, north of Auckland, was in Wanganui for the Wanganui Kennel Society's annual championships when someone broke into her van parked in the reserve and stole her wallet and a Samsung tablet.

Ms Brown said her wallet contained her driver's licence, credit cards and "a substantial amount of cash".

"I'm not worried about losing the wallet, but it's the tablet - there are images on there of my daughter's graduation but more especially my late mother," she told the Chronicle.

She said while she had little expectation that the property would be found or returned, she was hoping whoever stole the tablet could download the images on to a memory stick and hand it in to Wanganui Police or the Wanganui Chronicle office.

Ms Brown arrived in Wanganui on Friday and, like others attending the show, parked her motorhome at the Wanganui East reserve.

"I had my two dogs in their crates in the motorhome and had left the windows down a little so they got fresh air when I was away from the van. I was away between 6pm and 7.30pm and that's when someone broke in."

The tablet had a distinctive pink cover. Ms Brown reported the theft to police.

"For me, it's those images stored on my tablet. They're irreplaceable.

"I know asking whoever stole it to return it is a long shot but I can only try," she said.