Appeal to find Warwickshire teenager's ashes after car stolen

Jamie Rees, 18, died after suffering a cardiac arrest on New Year's Day 2022

The family of a teenager who died are appealing for help to find a box containing his ashes that was stolen along with his brother's car.

Naomi Rees-Issitt said her son Callum's Volkswagen Golf had been stolen at 03:50 GMT on Thursday from Wolvey, Warwickshire.

Her 18-year-old son Jamie died after suffering a cardiac arrest on New Year's Day 2022.

The family reported the theft to Warwickshire Police.

Jamie collapsed after returning home from watching fireworks, his family said.

It took more than 17 minutes for an ambulance to reach him on the night, after which he was taken to hospital, but he later died on 5 January.

His mum described how Jamie had died minutes away from a locked defibrillator.

The family say a box containing some of Jamie's ashes was inside the car

The teenager's family and friends went on to create the OurJay Foundation to raise awareness of defibrillators and install accessible defibrillators for public use across Warwickshire.

Twenty of the life-saving devices were installed in his memory last year.

The family said other items taken from the car - a black Golf GTD model - included some Airpods and a black Trapstar coat.

A reward is being offered by Jamie's family for any information leading to its return.

Ch Insp Jim Rankin, policing commander for the Rugby area, said: "This incident is an example of the heartless nature of these criminals and we are investigating.

"Tackling vehicle crime is currently a priority for the force, with additional investment and resources being used to tackle it."