Grandmother's ashes stolen from car at M1 services

Resham Kaur Rai died in January at the age of 87

A woman is appealing for help after her grandmother's ashes were stolen from a car at a service station.

Sanjeet Sharma, from Derby, said her parents stopped at the M1 Toddington Services, Bedfordshire, on the way to Heathrow Airport on 20 February.

They were due to fly to India to scatter Resham Kaur Rai's ashes, but when they returned to their car they found their luggage had gone.

Bedfordshire Police has asked witnesses to come forward.

Mrs Sharma, from Chellaston, said: "We are hoping for the safe return of the ashes so my grandmother can be laid to rest.

"To lose an amazing person is hard enough but not being able to give her the send-off she deserves, compounds the grief."

Resham Kaur Rai's ashes were in a box within a bag

She said her parents were planning to scatter the ashes of her 87-year-old grandmother - who lived in Rushey Mead in Leicester - in the Indian state of Punjab, where she was from.

The 43-year-old said her parents' luggage - including the ashes - was locked in the car but when they returned after using the service station, between 15:00 and 15:30 GMT, it was all missing from the boot and back seat.

"They had to return home and miss their flight, pay for a new ticket, buy new suitcases, and go a couple of days later," she added.

She said the trip was booked before her grandmother's death and she had been due to go with them.

Mrs Sharma added: "My parents were just shocked and shaken. It was not the trip they were imagining.

"I don't imagine the ashes will be any use to the people who have stolen them. If they have half a conscience, they could hand them in."

She added she was also keen to share the image of the packaging the ashes were in because if they have been dumped, someone may spot them and hand them to the police.

A Bedfordshire Police spokesperson said: "We were called just before 15:40 GMT on Tuesday 20 February to a report of a theft from a vehicle at Toddington Services on the M1 southbound carriageway.

"Three suitcases and an urn carrying the ashes of deceased relative were taken."