A MUM and her eight-year-old daughter have been left terrified after someone broke into their home when they were asleep.

Carla Sykes was exhausted on her return home from a holiday to Spain and failed to double lock her front door when she went to bed.

But just a few hours later she was horrified to hear someone downstairs.

She said: “I always double lock my front door and always bring my keys up with me, but I was really tired and just thought ‘It will be OK’.

“I also left my keys next to the cooker in the kitchen.

“I’m quite a light sleeper as my daughter Amelia has type 1 diabetes and sometimes needs me in the night, but I went off to a deep sleep when I got into bed.

“At about 2am I was woken up by a bang but because I was still half asleep I thought it was a phone going off.

But I got up and looked out of the window and someone was by my car, but they ran off to the estate over the road.”

But, Ms Sykes of Polsteads, Vange, on heard another bang and realised someone was in the house. She went downstairs to find the door open and a coat hanger on the floor, which had been used to help the suspects get get in.

Although nothing was stolen she wants to warn other residents to be aware of what could happen.

She said: “Amelia is really upset and it’s making her condition worse.

“You realise how important it is to lock up properly, it could happen to anyone and was really frightening, so make sure you are careful.

She added: “I called 999 and the police were here within ten minutes and carried out a search of the area.

“People always put them down but they did a really good job.”

An Essex Police spokesman said: "Police were contacted just after 2am on Tuesday, October 25, with reports a suspect has just tried to break in to a property in Polsteads, Vange.

"Officers responded and were on scene within six minutes of the initial report.
"An area search was conducted but no one was found.

"We would appeal for anyone who saw anything suspicious to contact us on 101."