A COUPLE have been left devastated by the theft of several thousand pounds' worth of gold jewellery from their home in Witham.
Two men forced their way through a door of the house on Walnut Drive near Homefield Road during the early evening of June 10.
Once inside, the thieves ransacked the upstairs bedrooms and stole several gold heirlooms.
Investigating Officer, DC Nick Campbell, said: "The house was only empty for a few of hours, but this was enough for this thieving duo to take advantage and completely decimate the inside of this house.
"They tipped over anything and everything upstairs, emptying suitcases and flinging opened drawers across rooms which damaged furniture and ornaments.
"We don't know if they had been watching the property in the hours leading up to last Tuesday evening's break-in or whether this was an opportunist crime.
"Regardless, this couple are completely distraught at their loss and the invasion of their privacy.
"The jewellery that was stolen and those that are pictured were family heirlooms which had been handed down the generations of the families and they were looking forward to doing the same to their children later in life.
"We're aware that two men were seen outside the house on that Tuesday evening. We believe they drove off in a dark hatchbacked van.
"We ask people to take look at the men's descriptions, the clothing that they wore and recall whether they saw them in the area last week."
The men are described as white, but tanned and aged in their 30s, one man has dark-brown curly hair which was gelled back with a wave in it and is fat. He was wearing a black T-shirt which had white writing on the shoulders and the back.
The second man was wearing dark shorts, a short-sleeved yellow high-visibility jacket and large sunglasses. He has his dark hair gelled and spiky at the front.
"These jewellery items may be offered for sale to people in the coming days in unusual circumstances so we ask jewellers and the general public alike to be alert and contact us." added DC Campbell.
A forensic examination of the house was carried out, with house-to-house enquiries also completed.
Anyone with information in connection with this burglary is urged to contact detectives at Braintree police station on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
