THIEVES have targeted a Callington property three times in one week, wiping out 30 years of documented memories of a Christian missionary's travels to Eastern Europe and Africa.

Irreplaceable tape recordings of expeditions and hard disks containing thousands of photographs were taken when criminals ransacked the shed David Godfrey uses as his office in the garden of his home in Saltash Road.

Mr Godfrey, 66, said the equipment that was taken, including a 'very old' dictaphone, Fuji digital camera, mobile phone, MP3 player and radio, totalled less than £100 in value and the tapes and disks were worth nothing to anyone else.

'The police have said it was a random crime but the offenders came back on another two occasions to see what else they could find,' he said. 'They pulled everything apart, the shelving units and drawers and 16 boxes were emptied onto the floor.

'It was a shock. We moved here last August for a quiet life and I had started using the shed more and more as a place to come and listen to my tapes in peace.

'The intention was to write a book one day with all that material. I just hope whoever did this might return the tapes and disks when they realise there is no value in them.'

Thieves broke the lock on the shed on the first night, but despite additional security measures installed the next day they returned and managed to force open the door with a spade taken from another outbuilding. A further attempt was made to break in but failed.

David Godfrey, who is a member of the Mustard Seed Evangelical Church in Callington, has most recently been to Africa where he has been teaching high yielding farming methods, but after suffering a stroke last autumn he has been at home recuperating.

With his wife, Sue, a former district midwife in St Ives, he started missionary work in the 1990s, firstly in Romania, following the collapse of communism, and then in Bosnia during the war. They also worked in Chetnya, Armenia and Georgia, helping set up medical centres.

The couple spent seven years in Romania where they helped hundreds of children and young people in orphanages and mental asylums and led many convoys of aid to the country.

Police are appealing for information on these crimes which occurred during the week before Christmas or want to hear from anyone who may have seen the stolen items dumped anywhere or been offered them.

If you can help please contact Callington police on the 101 number or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.