The partner of a Peel man killed in Ukraine last year has made a heartbreaking plea for the return of items he built.

In recent weeks, a solar panel and propane tank - both constructed by Chris - were taken from a container at the Old Mushroom Farm in Greeba.

Chris’s partner, Courtney Pollock, has taken to social media urging those responsible to return them ‘no questions asked’ or she will have to report the theft to police.

In the post, Courtney said: ‘I never thought I’d be writing something like this, but I’m asking for the Isle of Man community’s help.

‘In the last three to four weeks, a solar panel and propane tank have been taken from a container at the Old Mushroom Farm in Greeba.

That container wasn’t just a project - it was built by my partner, Christopher Garrett. Chris was killed last May in Ukraine.

‘Since then, I’ve been here trying to rebuild a life for myself and our daughter, holding onto the things he created, the pieces of him that are still here with us. So to come back and find parts of that gone… it’s honestly heartbreaking.’

She has urged those who took the items to come forward and also asked for the Manx public’s help.

Courtney said: ‘I want to believe this island is better than this. I want to believe someone out there knows something, or that whoever took them might see this and choose to do the right thing.

‘If that’s you – please, just bring them back. No questions asked. You can leave them exactly where you found them within the next week. I won’t press charges. I just want these pieces of Chris’s work back.

‘After that, I will have to report it so I can try to recover the loss, but more than anything, I just want them returned.

To everyone else – if you’ve seen anything, heard anything, or come across a solar panel and propane tank that don’t seem right, please reach out.

‘Please help me bring a small part of him back home.’

Armed forces veteran Chris, of Peel, had been working to detonate and disarm explosive devices and bombs placed around Ukraine by Russian forces since Vladimir Putin first annexed Crimea in 2014.

Chris, 40, and his team from the charity Prevail Together – which he co-founded – stepped up their work after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Prevail Together ambassador and board member Shaun Pinner confirmed Chris died in the city of Izyum on Tuesday, May 6, last year, alongside Australian national Nick Parsons.

Chris, also known as Swampy, and his team were dismantling an improvised explosive device at the time in the Ukrainian city.

In 2014, Chris first travelled to Ukraine following Russia’s annexation of Crimea, when Ukrainian forces were fighting pro-Russian separatists.

He returned to the UK in 2017 but went back to Ukraine four days after the full-scale invasion in 2022.

Rather than active combat, he focused on mine clearance and also trained others in how to safely clear mines and diffuse explosives.

Chris met his partner Courtney Pollock in Ukraine, where she was working as a volunteer paramedic from the United States. They have a young daughter, Reed.