TREASURED possessions of a soldier were stolen from an Army barracks days after he was killed in Afghanistan, it has emerged.

Serjeant Steven Campbell, of Pelton, near Chester-le-Street, died in a bomb blast near Sangin on March 22, last year, while serving with 3rd Battalion The Rifles.

The following month, thieves raided a storage warehouse at Redford and Dreghorn Barracks, in Edinburgh, stealing soldiers’ personal items worth thousands of pounds.

Among Sjt Campbell’s lost possessions were a crystal decanter bought as a gift by his wife, Lisa, shortly before he flew to Afghanistan, and a wallet containing family photographs.

A Ministry of Defence police investigation has failed to track down those responsible.

Mrs Campbell, 34, who has a ten-year-old son, Brandon, said: “It is nothing short of a disgrace that people were able to just get into the barracks and take items like Steven’s which have huge sentimental value to families.

“These things are really important to me because they were really important to Steven.

“You do not expect your husband to be sent to a war zone while back at home his valuables are being stolen.

“I have accepted that I will probably never see them again, but I want answers to why it happened.”

The barracks serves as a base for hundreds of soldiers from 3 Rifles and the Royal Scots Borderers (1st Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland).

Watches, televisions, jewellery and even a washing machine belonging to other soldiers were also stolen.

Sjt Campbell, 30, died when the quad bike he was using to pull a trailer filled with mortar and ammunition between bases was blown up by Taliban insurgents on a bridge.