i THIEVES have left a 20-year-old Kidderminster student distraught after breaking into his car and stealing a precious album packed with irreplaceable photographs of a trip of a lifetime to America.

i Matthew Keynes, a part-time barman at the Mare and Colt, Summerfield, has made a heartfelt plea for the return of his treasured mementoes of his three months work with Camp America last year.

i He had taken the album, containing about 250 pictures, to show to colleagues at the pub when his Peugeot 106 was broken into on Saturday evening.

i It also featured letters of thanks from parents of the children he had looked after and led in various adventure activities, including archery and boating, at the camp in the Catskill Mountains in the state of New York.

i The second-year digital media student at University College Worcester said: "I was really distraught when I found the album had been taken.

i "I have no negatives because the photos were taken on disposable cameras. They are no use to anyone else but they are irreplaceable to me."

i Mr Keynes, who lives in Kidderminster, had left his souvenir under the seat of his car when thieves smashed a window and stole more than £1,000 worth of stereo equipment and CDs, as well as the album.

i A search of the surrounding area drew a blank and Mr Keynes is appealing for the album to be handed in to Kidderminster Police Station or the Mare and Colt.