Leicester couple tackle knife-wielding car thieves

Dionne Shaw said the hard drive contained "the last 12 years of my life"

A couple who took on knife-wielding car thieves are offering a reward for the return of a portable hard drive containing thousands of family photos.

The hard drive had been inside a stolen car, and Luke Measures was so desperate to get it back he risked being stabbed as he stopped the thieves driving away.

He and Dionne Shaw had tracked the car down after it was taken from outside a school in Leicester.

They got the car back but the hard drive was not inside.

The car was stolen from New Parks Crescent on 14 May and it was reported to the police.

'Really dangerous'

The couple then decided to find it themselves and after tracking the car down nearby, Mr Measures confronted the thieves.

"He grabbed hold of the car and they were sort of shouting and flailing with knives," said Ms Shaw.

"He's very, very lucky that he didn't get stabbed but he did get cut.

"It was only afterwards when everything was calming down we thought 'that was really stupid, that was really dangerous'."

Fortunately, Mr Measures' only injury was a cut thumb and the youths ran away after the struggle.

The hard drive looked like this one and contained thousands of photos and videos

Ms Shaw said the hard drive contained "the last 12 years of my life" and photos of her dead mother.

"Some of the pictures and videos are even older," she said.

"My whole family's birthdays, christenings, weddings, funerals, engagement parties, but even more importantly those intimate family moments, like my son's first words, his first steps, his first chicken nugget."

Her son, Kai, was "absolutely distraught" and "screaming and crying" when they could not find the car, she said.

Dionne Shaw's son, Kai, was "absolutely distraught" when the car was stolen

Anyone with information should contact Leicestershire Police.