Repentant burglars return stolen haul

Sheepish thieves who stole half-eaten cans of food but left expensive computer equipment at a house they burgled in Norwich returned everything to the doorstep the next afternoon with an apologetic note attached.

The burglars entered the house in Muriel Road on Thursday night and cleared the fridge, stealing plastic pots of baked beans, butter, tuna and half-baked bread, as well as computer games, a computer console controller, DVDs and a sat-nav, but leaving a laptop computer, TV, and Xbox console. Then, less than 24 hours after they were taken, the items were returned to the house and left on the front doorstep with a note saying“sorry for taking this stuff - very, very drunk and stupid”.

Jess King, 22, who lives at the house with friends Andy Walker, 24, Rachael Storr, 22, and Laurence Sim, 21, said their home was ransacked after they accidentally left the door open on the Thursday night. She said: “At about 4am I was woken by loud voices in the street, but that isn't unusual in our area so I thought nothing of it and went back to sleep. When we got up, Andy noticed his cereal missing from the cupboard and then opened the fridge and it was empty.



“It was really eerie - no food was spilt and all the cupboard doors were closed, but the fridge and cupboards were empty. They also picked things from the living room, including five Xbox games, but only one of the Xbox controllers, a Tom-Tom and a Sex and the City box set, but left the laptop, TV and an Xbox. Then we noticed the front door unlocked and the trail of food outside.”

Although shocked at being a victim of burglary, Miss King said she was just as surprised to have the items returned. She said: “Laurence arrived home at about 4.30pm to find a plastic bag with the electrical stuff in and a big bin bag full of the food. The note was attached. I am glad those responsible did the right thing and returned what they stole, but they still entered our house uninvited, stole food and pawed their way through our home, selecting silly objects they could steal. It makes me angry and uneasy.”

A police spokesman said: “It is very unusual for property to be returned in this manner and for the victims to receive a written apology. Although this is a positive result for the owners of the property, an offence has been committed and we are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding this incident.”