The Press has reported that an Irish couple has been held to ransom for the return of their flash drives, stolen during a robbery over the Labour weekend.

The couple lef t their Springfield, Christchurch residence for a holiday in Mount Cook and returned to find their laptop, an harmonica and flash drives containing 9 months of photos had been stolen.

Since the theft they’ve had texts asking for hundreds of dollars for the return of the drives. Read more about the story here.

It’s bad enough that their precious memories have been taken from them after all the trauma of the Canterbury earthquake, it’s reprehensible that the thieves have asked for money for their return.

We hope their possessions are returned to them as soon as possible and those responsible face the consequences of their actions.