A COMPANY director has offered a £500 reward for the return of around £10m of vital export business which he is desperate to recover after his laptop computer was stolen.

Thieves struck outside the Whittle-le-Woods home of Nick Maddison, smashing a window of his BMW and making off with his briefcase containing the precious Toshiba laptop.

The hard drive held important work material and pictures of his baby daughter Amelia, born just three weeks ago.

Mr Maddison said the stress of the birth -- after which his wife Helen became seriously ill and was rushed into intensive care -- had led to the moment of carelessness when he forgot to take his briefcase out of the car.

Mrs Maddison needed two blood transfusions -- 16 pints of blood -- due to internal bleeding after the birth at Sharoe Green. She was later transferred to Royal Preston Hospital.

Mr Maddison, 32, of Cross Keys Drive, said: "The laptop is very important for business, but also there's a lot of personal stuff.

"Helen was at death's door and it has been very traumatic for 10 weeks. It has been incredibly stressful."

Mr Maddison, sales and marketing director for Decorpart Ltd, Nelson, a company that makes components for the pharmaceutical and cosmetics trade, said the hard drive contained information about business deals and customer contacts, which he had been working hard on over the past three years.

"Basically you are looking at the best part of £10m of business."

Mrs Maddison, 32, said: "Nick has been trying to look after me and the children." The couple have another child, Adam, aged two-and-a-half.

The theft occurred in the early hours of last Saturday.

Anyone with information leading to the recovery of the laptop -- a Toshiba Satellite Pro 4010 -- and the hard drive with the company business is asked to contact the Chorley Citizen newsdesk on 01257 269313.