Colin Hocking is grateful to the hospital staff who treated Tom

A distraught couple have appealed for the return of precious videos of their baby son stolen as he recovers from open heart surgery.

Burglars struck at the home of Colin and Corrine Hocking and six-month-old Tom as they slept in their home in Llandudno, north Wales.

When they awoke they discovered their front door prised open and their Panasonic digital camcorder gone along with two tapes of footage of Tom.

The tapes chart Tom's life from his first days and his ordeal in having to overcome a major heart operation at Alder Hey Hospital, Liverpool.

Mr Hocking, aged 34, said: "I am very angry and I think the people who did this are evil and absolute scum.

Whoever stole them has probably thrown them away, which makes me really upset Colin Hocking

"The tapes are no use to anyone else but are so precious to us - we don't care about the camcorder.

"The unfortunate thing is that whoever stole them has probably thrown them away, which makes me really upset."

'Traumatic time'

Three weeks after Tom was born last August, it was discovered he had three holes in his heart.

"He is our first child so it came as a hell of a shock and it was a very traumatic time for us.

"He had to have open heart surgery when he wasn't more than two or three months old.

"If it wasn't for the operation he wouldn't have seen his first or second birthday."

Tom still has to return to hospital for regular check-ups

Mr Hocking said: "Tom is a beautiful and bonny little baby. I know I'm biased but I couldn't imagine our lives without him."

A wallet and keys for house and car were also stolen, which has meant locks have had to be changed.

Mr Hocking, who works for Boots, said: "My wife is still shaken and they must be desperate people.

"It doesn't bear thinking about what the consequences might have been if they had been disturbed."

Detective Sergeant Graham Opie, of Llandudno CID, said: "Burglaries are decreasing in this area but this offence has had a very upsetting impact on its victims and we are anxious to trace the people responsible."

Anyone with information can contact Llandudno CID on 01492 511306 or Crimestoppers on 0800 5551111.