IRREPLACEABLE music tracks and short films made by students over the past six months have been lost after a thief stole a teacher’s laptop.

The Macbook Pro contained media files that represent up to six months’ work by teenagers at Raise The Youth Foundation, a community interest company providing alternative education for up to 25 teenagers in Holmeswood Road, Great Lever.

The computer was taken from the BMW parked outside creative arts lead Alex English’s home off Crompton Way in Hall i’th’ Wood and the 29-year-old is now appealing for readers to keep an eye out for the valuable device.

Mr English said: “I’m absolutely devastated. I’m more concerned for the young people who have lost their project work than the loss of the equipment. The projects are irreplaceable.”

Raise The Youth Foundation provides classes for students with intense social or behaviour difficulties, such as substance abuse or violence issues, who come mainly from Bolton, and may struggle with mainstream education.

Some attend full time, while others are pupils at regular schools and visit the foundation on day release.

Mr English said: “I’m the creative arts lead, which involves do lots of multi-media projects with the young people. They range from music production to project planning: you name it, it’s all done on that laptop.

“The laptop has the programs, tools and resources I need to connect with the young people.

“I need it back because they work on that laptop. It is used for absolutely everything. It’s going to hinder us as a business as we’re not going to be able to provide what we have been providing.”

The oldest project on the missing laptop was started six months ago and the files have been an labour of love for the students, who will not be penalised over the missing work in terms of their personal portfolio.

Mr English said: “There’s lots of officials projects like videos, short films and music videos. Some of it is really good to watch.

“But we can’t get it back. The only ones we have saved elsewhere are very early versions, but there’s been lots of editing and adjustments made since and it’s very time consuming to try to replicate it.”

The 15-inch screen silver Macbook Pro, which has a distinctive dent on the bottom left corner and another on the charger port, was stolen from the footwell of Mr English’s BMW parked in his driveway in the early hours of Tuesday, June 14.

Mr English said: “The laptop will be completely useless to the thief since it’s all password protected.”

Anyone with information on the stolen laptop should contact police on 101.