A MAN is appealing for the return of his lost mobile phone, which contains treasured messages from his dead fiancée.
Matthew Lynch, 26, of Rastrick, lost his Samsung D600 phone in a taxi he had got in at about 7pm on May 19 outside Burger King on King Street, Huddersfield, after watching the FA Cup Final on TV.
On the phone were 90 text messages which had been sent to him by his fiancée, Carrie Tipton, who died in June last year.
There were also photos of 28-year-old Carrie on the phone - including a picture of the night the couple got engaged, which was set as the phone's screensaver.
Carrie, an early years assistant at Elland C of E School, had been with Matthew, a carpet fitter, for six years.
In December, 2004, Carrie was diagnosed with leukaemia. She underwent a stem cell transplant and received the all-clear from the disease at Christmas, 2005 - when the couple got engaged. They were due to marry last month.
But Carrie, also from Rastrick, became ill with pneumonia and it was discovered that the leukaemia had returned. She was admitted to hospital in May, 2006, and died just three weeks later.
Her mother, Glenda, an early years assistant at Field Lane School in Rastrick, said: "A shock was putting it mildly. It has been a very difficult time for Matthew and for us."
Glenda and her husband Steve are still close to Matthew and have helped him call taxi firms and put notices in their offices appealing for the phone to be returned.
Mrs Tipton said Matthew was distraught at losing the phone .
She said: "It has about 90 messages from Carrie that he can't replace. As the days go by Matthew is giving up. But we want to try everything. If someone has it, if they find out how important it is and how irreplaceable, maybe they will think twice about keeping it. It would make such a difference if he could have it back."
Anyone who thinks they may know where the phone is should ring the Tiptons on 01484 711143.
