Medals stolen in Dorset returned to fire chief's family
The family of a top fire chief has been reunited with medals which were stolen from him in Dorset in 2000.
Sir Kenneth Holland, who died in 2005, joined the fire service in 1937 and served with distinction in World War II.
He rose to the position of Chief Inspector of Fire Services before retiring to Dorset.
Police tracked down the 20 stolen medals after seeing them for sale on online auction site eBay last year.
Con Aimee Garner contacted various auction houses to retrieve the medals.
Some were recovered from as far afield as New Zealand.
Last Thursday Sgt Cheyne Marley returned Sir Kenneth's medals to his sons Peter and Keith and his daughter Jackie in Poole.
Sir Kenneth's son Peter Holland has followed in his father's footsteps in joining the fire service and is now chief fire officer for Lancashire.
He said: "After the burglary, replacement medals were made, but these were never the same as the ones presented by the Queen.
"We would like to thank Dorset Police, and Police Constable Garner in particular, for recovering these medals."