A FAMILY pet scared off a crook before he could flee with valuables in the middle of the night.

Foxy, a six-year-old Jack Russell-Mini Fox Terrier cross, sounded the alarm at 3am when a burglar came in through the front door of her home in Common Approach, Thundersley.

CCTV images showed the crook had been hanging around outside the front of the house before managing to force the front door open.

Foxy, who was asleep in her owner Maria Solecki’s bedroom, started barking, waking her owner.

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Foxy, aged 6

Maria, 41, said: “At first I thought she may have been barking at a badger, so I went out with her onto the landing and waited. Nothing seemed wrong and she calmed down, so I went back to bed.

“Later we discovered the front door was left open, which was very confusing. During the week I noticed I had a couple of coats missing. It was only when we looked at the CCTV did we realise a man had got in and was trying to steal things.

“He will have heard Foxy barking and must have grabbed what he could and fled.

“It looked like he was carrying a knife and a wrench. It was quite scary really.”

Ms Solecki said neighbours had reported people trying to gain access to their properties over the same weekend.

She said the incident, which happened on Saturday morning, could have been much worse without Foxy.

She added: “She is incredibly defensive of her home, very different to her usual timid self during the day.

“She without a doubt saved us from a much worse situation. If she hadn’t have been there and barking he could have gone through the house and taken things whilst I slept.

“He looked very big and dangerous and he was carrying weapons, I’m just glad Foxy could scare him off.”

Anyone with information should call Essex Police on 101 quoting 42/92156/19.

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