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Precious family heirlooms from the Holocaust were taken when a bag containing £8,000 of rare camera equipment was stolen from an art gallery.

Alex Vann was about to show his lecturer and students around when a man walked in and began speaking to him at around 5.50pm.

It was after that Alex, a masters student, noticed his bag had been taken.

The 29-year-old believes the man may have been sent to distract him while the theft took place.

He runs the Abacus, a non for profit community space in St David’s House in Cardiff city centre, reports Wales Online.

Inside the Lowe Pro camera black rucksack was £8,000 of rare camera equipment but also negatives, as he only works on film, and four books which belonged to his grandfather.

His grandfather, Henry Shore, was a holocaust survivor who fled Austria with his two sisters and brother after Kristallnacht.

He arrived in England and was due to be deported, but because he was a junior doctor but was allowed to stay.

He went on to work in Newcastle Upon Tyne.

Only the family who he left Austria with survived the war.

His younger brother, who decided to return to mainland Europe and fight with the Jewish resistance, was captured and killed.

After the war, Mr Shore wrote a series of poetry books, detailing his feelings about the Holocaust.

Copies of the books were given by Mr Shore to his daughter, Alex’s mum, and messages written in them.

Alex, from Grangetown in Cardiff, was using those books as part of a photography project when they were stolen.

He was using his grandfather’s poetry to create metaphors based on his grandfather’s work.

“Without the books I won’t be able to finish my project and they’re really important to my family.

“It’s just really gutting. I tried and do something nice for the community and I have done all this because I believe in doing this for the public.

"I wanted to give something back. It’s heartwrenching,” said Alex.

He asked whoever took the bags to return his books and the negatives.

“Just dump the bag at the Abacus or any camera shop and they will get back to me.“All I want is my work and my books back.

"If they feel like they have to take the cameras, then I would gladly exchange them for my work because that can’t be replaced.”

The stolen property included a Canon 5D mark 2 camera, a Fuji GF670 camera and an 18mm Olympus lens.

Anyone with any information concerning this theft or who may have been offered any of these items is asked to contact South Wales Police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 and quote reference 1500067711.