Birch

It is a scary thought but we think that maybe somebody was watching the flat. The police have been really great so far, so hopefully they'll have some luck.

Yes this is a good idea. He actually has an external harddrive which he backs stuff up on - the irony is that it has some sort of error/problem and the only reason he went out of the flat was to borrow a friend's spare one to back up his computer. In the 45 minutes that he was out, his computer was stolen!

Thank you to everyone for your kind messages. The police are contacting all of the local pawn shops and I have contacted all of the local music shops that I know of. It didn't have a security marking but I have a serial number for the instrument (18394). The only other details I can think of which might be useful are that it is a gold brass colour and is in a black backpack style case which says Paxman on it. I don't have a picture but if you go on the Paxman horn makers website then you will be able to search for the model and see a photo on there - http://www.paxman.co.uk/pages/alexanderhorns.html My husband is a composer and he has also had his Apple Mac book stolen which contains all of his scores, the first chapter of his phd on it which was not backed up anywhere else, and lots of music software on it. It is white and has a 13" screen, it was in a black crumpler case. If you see anything in a second hand store which matches the descriptions then please let me know! Thanks Ruth

Hi there I had my flat broken into today and my french horn was taken (amongst other things). It is an Alexander 1103 with a detachable bell. If you see one in any local music shops or online that matches the descrption then please let me know. I live on Forest Hill Road just near the park. Thanks Ruth