Precious family photos have been stolen from a car that was broken into while a family with a sick child was taking an afternoon dip at a popular Auckland city beach.
Devastated mum Storm Baynes-Ryan is appealing to whoever took their belongings in a brazen daylight theft just off a busy Auckland waterfront road on Monday to hand back a laptop that stored her irreplaceable family snaps.
The Gisborne mother said the family of five had stopped at Okahu Bay for a swim when robbers smashed windows of the family's Toyota Highlander before making off with bags, wallets, a smart phone and laptop left inside the vehicle.
The family had travelled to Auckland for an MRI and CT scan for their 5-year-old son Clancy, who suffers from a rare form of audible tinnitus.
Mrs Baynes-Ryan said the theft had caused her children an incredible amount of heartache, turning a lovely outing into a nightmare.