A FATHER'S surprise wedding gift for his daughter worth thousands of pounds was stolen by thieves less than 10 days before she was to get married.

John Hayes had spent years putting together a DJ set, estimated to be worth around £13,000.

In preparation for his daughter's wedding, he had been making some new, special additions, to the equipment to surprise her on her big day.

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Amy Hayes is set to marry Sean Griffiths on Saturday, July 8, and Mr Hayes, was going to reveal the new state-of-the-art additions for her gift.

In the early hours of Thursday, the unit in Darwen where he keeps the equipment was broken into and all of it was taken.

Mr Hayes, who works as an electrician as well as a DJ, described the equipment as 'unique' and probably the only of of its kind in the country.

As well as taking the equipment, including lights, lasers and pyrotechnics, a large quantity of power tools, the trailer used to carry the DJ equipment and a beach buggy motorbike were taken in the raid in Redearth Road in Darwen.

Mr Hayes, 54, was left devastated by the theft of the equipment he had put years of work into but more so by the fact that his daughter was left with no DJ for the wedding with little over a week until the big day.

He said: "I wanted it to be a surprise. It was my wedding gift to my daughter basically.

"It was the early hours of Thursday around 1.15am. They've been caught on CCTV but it is very grainy.

"It is very unique equipment, you would know if somebody tried to sell it to you.

"I just know I'm not going to see it again. I'm absolutely gutted. It is the fact it was my daughter's wedding gift more than anything else. I had got some stuff for my daughter's wedding. She had no idea about it, it was a surprise.

"I've spent a couple of weeks to make it extra special for them."

After the break-in, an appeal was put out for a new DJ for the wedding on social media and thankfully, somebody has been found to step in for Mr Hayes, of Highfield Road in Farnworth.

He said: "We have got somebody now. There was a lot of people coming forward to help, asking me if we have got sorted and that.

"They have been brilliant, all the people on social media. I'm very grateful for that.

"My daughter was really really upset about it all. I found it very difficult to tell her what had gone on."

Lancashire Police are investigating the break-in and forensic teams are said to have worked at the scene.

It is believed that three men were involved and they used a white Transit van to escape with the items.

A box used to store the lighting rig has the initials KH on it.

Anyone with information should contact Lancashire Police on 101.