A family were horrified to discover the contents of their stolen trailer - which contained everything they owned - was accidently destroyed by the council after thieves dumped it.
Dominique Herbst, 37, her husband Knut, 72, and their two children, who come from Germany, were moving to Liverpool, and had been staying in their motorhome in nearby Crosby for two days when the trailer connected to the vehicle was stolen.
It contained virtually all their possessions, including various household objects, the children's toys and sentimental items such as photos.
Dominique estimates the contents were worth around £30,000, the Liverpool Echo reports.
After the theft was reported in the Liverpool Echo, the family were tipped off that their belongings had been dumped nearby in Bootle. But when they arrived there was nothing there apart from old tape from a video camera.
They called Liverpool County Council and were told their things had been taken away as it was believed to have been fly-tipped and destroyed at a nearby landfill.
Dominique said: "I cried when I found out, it was the hardest moment in the whole story. It was worse than when they stole the trailer. We think we have lost around £30,000 - it was everything we owned.
"We had so much hope and we thought it was possible to find the trailer and it makes me very sad to think it was all just thrown away. Now we only have one thing left from our lives and that is an old video cassette but we have no idea what is on it."
Dominique said that police have now started to investigate the case but she feels "they started too late".
The family has moved their motorhome closer to the city centre and she thanked the "amazing" neighbours on Nicholas Road for helping in their hour of need.
Dominique, who's from Berlin, said: "We are planning on moving into a permanent home soon and are staying positive. We thought about going home but we decided to stay.
"We remembered why we came to Liverpool, we like the city and we want our kids to go to school here. What we remember is a good feeling so we are staying."
A spokesperson for Merseyside Police said: "We can confirm we received a report of a theft of a trailer in Blundellsands. It was reported on Friday October 28 that a white trailer had been stolen from outside a property on Nicholas Road.
"If you have any information about this incident, contact us @MerPolCC or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 with reference 22000795449."
The family have now set up a GoFundMe if you would like to donate more information can be found here.
Sefton Council have been contacted for comment.
