Couple left shattered by wedding theft

A BRITISH couple looking forward to their dream wedding in Cyprus have been left devastated after their holiday villa was robbed of valuables – including their wedding rings.

Hayley Halliday, 27, and fiancé Derek Taylor, 29, returned to their rented villa in Protaras after visiting a local restaurant to discover thieves had stolen £4,000 cash, personalised wedding rings, decorations for the reception and bizarrely even some of Hayley’s beach shorts.

A close family friend told the Sunday Mail that the entire family were shattered by the theft and appealed for the return the wedding rings.

“They are heartbroken, we all are, we just cannot believe it, all we want back is the rings – they are irreplaceable.

“What is strange is the thief did not take credit cards or even their ipod,” she said.

The couple from Liverpool, who are here with their two young children, only left the villa for two hours to enjoy a family meal on Protaras high street.

The pair had only been in Cyprus for a few days, along with 22 guests, many of whom had flown here especially for their big day.

Despite their ordeal, the couple say arrangements for the wedding tomorrow are still on.

“They will go ahead with the service. The thieves even stole the personalised wedding favours – what can they possibly want them for,” the friend added.

There were no signs of forced entry at the couple’s villa, leading police to suspect the thief may have owned a duplicate key.

A police source at Paralimni confirmed that similar robberies in Ayia Napa and Protaras had been reported this season, but added there is little chance of recovering the stolen items.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.