Adelaide thieves ransack home leaving young widowed mum devastated

Thieves have ransacked a house in Adelaide's inner-north, stealing hugely sentimental items and leaving a widowed mum-of-two devastated.

Jess, 36, says when she opened her front door yesterday afternoon, she knew someone had been inside.

"[I] immediately ran to the area where I was keeping all my valuables," Jess told 9News.

The engagement ring given to her by her late husband James, tragically killed when their car was hit by a bus on Kangaroo Island in February last year, was gone.

"If he [James] were here we could go out and replace these things, they're just things and I know that," Jess said.

"But actually these things are things I can give to my children, that they can remember their father by, they're things that I obviously found a lot of confidence in the last year and I am just absolutely devastated that they're gone."

She said the thieves also stole a family heirloom locket containing a lock of James' hair.

"It wasn't particularly valuable but it had some hair in that I had actually cut after James had passed away in the accident and obviously I can't … that just cannot be replaced."

Anyone who sees the items is urged to contact police.

"If they pop in second hand shops or Gumtree or Marketplace, I just really hope that people can help me look for the sake of getting them back to give to my children... and giving me some peace in what is a really difficult time in my life."