Mother speaks of moment she woke from nap to find burglar in house

A NEW mother has spoken of her terror at waking from a nap to find a burglar wielding a yellow screwdriver in her home.
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Police efit

The 26-year-old was alone with her 14-week-old son when at least two men broke into the house she shares with her husband in Barrington Road, Worthing.

The incident happened on Wednesday, August 13, at 6.30pm.

The woman said: “My husband had gone to work at around 5pm so I thought I would go upstairs with the baby for a little nap.

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“I try to sleep whenever he does so it was the perfect opportunity, but I woke up with a start when I heard something at the door.

“Initially, I thought it was a newspaper being delivered, then I started hearing footsteps and wondered if it was our next-door neighbours.

“All of a sudden, I realised that those footsteps were on our landing and I jumped out of bed so quickly.

“I could remember thinking that it wasn’t my husband and when I opened the door I saw a man holding a yellow screwdriver outside the bedroom door.

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“He looked shocked to see me and I heard him say to someone else downstairs, ‘I thought you said there was nobody home’.

“On that, he ran downstairs and slammed the door.

“I did not know what to think, I was so shocked, but I called the police and my husband, who came home from work straight away.

“I still cannot believe that I confronted him, he could have done anything to me or my baby, and he could have stabbed me with the screwdriver or got hold of my little boy.”

The family has now had a burglar alarm installed and taken extra security measures at the property.

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The victim said: “It was so scary, you just do not expect anything like that to happen.

“You expect to be secure in your own home, it is your private time so to have it invaded like that is awful.

“Someone has broken that haven for me and I no longer feel safe here anymore.

“We have lived here for six years and nothing like this has ever happened.

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“Now I do not know what to think, I have been wondering if we were targeted or if it was totally random.

“What the burglar said shook me up because it was as if we were being watched.

“I am actually more scared for my little boy, our first child, as he is so little. I just feel totally vulnerable now.”

Police are appealing for witnesses and have produced an efit of the man seen on the landing, who is described as white, about 5ft 8in or 5ft 9in, and in his early twenties.

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He had short blond curly hair, was wearing a dark top and was carrying a yellow-handled screwdriver.

The young mother said: “I just want the police to catch this man now so he does not have the opportunity to do this to somebody else.

“They had managed to get in through our front door with ease and with minimal damage so it is important that this does not happen again.”

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