AN ‘IRREPLACEABLE’ CBE medal which was presented to a prominent Cumbrian by The Queen has been stolen in a raid.

Dr John Ashton, a previous president of the Faculty of Public Health, said he has been left devastated after thieves broke into his home and took the medal.

“You hear about how awful it is to be burgled and to have strangers roaming around your home and stealing your precious things but it is only when it happens to you that you experience that sickening sense of violation,” he said.

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“I am not somebody who cares much about possessions but what has been stolen means such a lot emotionally.”

Jewellery belonging to his wife and a BB gun were also taken in the burglary, which happened on November 6 at his home in Dent, near Sedbergh,

“My wife’s jewellery that has gone includes things that were her mother’s and grandmother’s as well as the diamond and pearl necklace that we bought for my mother when we went to Buckingham Palace for me to receive my CBE,” he said.

“The CBE itself is irreplaceable because it was put around my neck by the Queen with my mother present not long before my mother died.

“I can’t imagine that the thief will have got more than a few pounds for it. I hope that whoever did this will understand my wife and my feelings and return these things which are so emotionally important to us.”

Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to contact police quoting log 61 of November 6 2018.

Alternatively you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.