Three years ago, Mr Cole's brother Daryl died and left him a valued piece of jewellery.

"We took the piss out of each other all the time," Mr Cole said of the relationship he and his brother shared.

"He had been given this nice gold watch by some friends of his after they went on a cruise. I told him it was a nice watch and I joked that 'when you die, I'll have that'. He said 'bullshit, you're not getting my watch.'

"It was all said in jest, but on the day of his funeral, his wife came up and handed it to me and said Daryl wanted me to have it."

That kind gesture meant the world to him.

But on Sunday, May 8, Mr Cole discovered the watch for which he held so many fond memories had been stolen from his car after he was forced to leave the vehicle sitting by the side of the road overnight.

"I went over to Molong to see my sister and I was on my way back and I got a flat tyre. I pulled over to the side of the road to change it, but it had a lock-nut on it and I had no tools to get it off," Mr Cole said.

"The best option was to lock it up and I had to leave the car there. I went out Sunday morning with a friend who had a car trailer but the dirty mongrels had smashed the left hand front window and they stole four pairs of prescription glasses and the gold watch."

Mr Cole couldn't care less about the glasses. In his words, "they're replaceable." It was the theft of the watch and the memories it held that will stand as the biggest loss.

"To take that watch, that was just wrong," he added.

"I rang the police when I saw the damage to the car and within half an hour, there was a forensic copper around here fingerprinting the car. Another two hours passed and another copper asked me questions about it so they could follow up. They were right onto it."

Mr Cole still isn't any close to getting his watch back and said the theft has left him "devastated." Anyone with information should call Orange Police Station on 63636399.

To read more stories, download the Central Western Daily news app in the Apple Store or Google Play.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: