A WOMAN said she has been left traumatised after police burst into her flat searching for a man she has not spoken to for nine years.

Meg Le Chalmers, 25, was sound asleep in her flat in Roosevelt Way, Colchester, at 7.30am on Saturday when her sister woke her because there was loud banging at the

door.

Seconds later, police burst through the front door smashing it from the hinges.

Miss Le Chalmers said: “My sister woke me up saying ‘What is that banging at the front door?’

“We didn’t know what was happening. We thought it might even have been the postman.

“I had no clothes on - just a pair of pants - and barely had my eyes open when they came in and shouting it was a raid.”

Miss Le Chalmers said officers were then rude and aggressive towards her and the two others in the flat and petrified her pet chihuahua so much it cowered in a corner.

Officers then spent an hour searching the flat and seized some items, which Miss Le Chalmers has now been told she is free to collect. No-one was arrested.

Police explained they were searching for cloned registration plates and stolen car keys in connection with a wanted man.

Miss Le Chalmers said: “I told the police I have not seen him for eight or nine years.

“I don’t have any connection with him whatsoever.”

“I have got absolutely nothing to hide.

“What they are looking for is just not in my house. I am not a thief.”

The door has been boarded up until Colchester Borough Homes can arrange for it to be replaced.

Miss Le Chalmers has now been placed in temporary bed

and breakfast accommodation which does not have cooking facilities.

She plans to make an official complaint against Essex Police and says the incident has triggered her anxiety and post

traumatic stress disorder conditions.

A spokesman for Essex Police said: “A warrant was executed at a property in Roosevelt Way, on Saturday, in connection with our search for a wanted person.

“Due to the front door being damage on securing entry, officers worked with the council to ensure the occupants would be re-homed temporarily.

“Should the occupants wish to raise any issues about the warrant they should contact our Professional Standards Department.”