East Sussex singer Sam Tompkins is pleading for the return of his late father’s necklace after his house was burgled.
The 27-year-old said he came back to his home in Brighton to find a small window smashed on 12 September.
Burglars took his Gibson acoustic guitar, laptop and all of his jewellery including a sentimental cross necklace which his father John Tompkins wore for more than a decade before his death last November.
Tompkins said he was “not bothered” about the other items but “just wants dad’s necklace back”.
“I told the forensic person that I lost my dad last year,” he said. “As soon as I said that, I quickly went to my room to check if the cross necklace that my dad had passed away in was there but it was gone.
“My heart just totally dropped and I was very upset. I felt very guilty and called all my siblings. They all understood it wasn’t my fault, it was in a safe spot but someone had taken it.”
Tompkins, who is currently on a world tour for his new album, said the necklace is a “pretty irrelevant item” to anyone else but “means so much” to his family.
“My dad was a Christian man, he felt very safe with that around his neck,” he said. “We have all felt an enormous depth of comfort knowing it’s there.
“The person who has it won’t have a clue what it means to me, they’ll either sell it or throw it away.
“It’s a small necklace and won’t be easy to find but perhaps if people have a local pawn shop near them or someone who deals in silver or gold.”
Tompkins said the burglary would not stop his Hi, My Name is Insecure tour. His next tour date is in Seattle on 18 September.
He added: “I don’t want to live in fear, I have to carry on. My dad wouldn’t want me worried this much about the pendant.”
Sussex Police said they were awaiting the results of a forensic examination after a burglary at a flat in Brighton between the mornings of 10 September and 12 September.
They said jewellery of sentimental value had been stolen along with a Gibson Hummingbird guitar, a laptop and champagne.
The force asked anyone with information to get in touch.
