A FAMILY has been left shaken after callous thieves ransacked their garden games room and stole equipment worth more than £1,000.

Kerry Carter, 39, of Alicia Avenue, Wickford was woken in the night by a neighbour who was worried about a break-in.

She rushed to find the expensive electrical items had been swiped.

She said: “Our neighbour saw a lifted-up the fence panel; you don’t expect anything like this to happen.

“I had the call at about 5.10am after the neighbour saw the fence panel, and I think they tried to get into his garage too.

“We’ve got a list of what they took and it included two electric scooters, one sit-on segway, a mountain bike, a 50 inch television, a karaoke machine, a reality headset and an Amazon fire stick.

“I think they took everything they could sell.

“I estimate it is all worth about £1,400 in total.

“The next day I was feeling shaken up and upset as I had to tell the kids.

“They are quite upset and find it quite scary - they don’t understand why or who or how this has happened.

“I am still feeling very shaken up and I think somehow it’s worse afterwards.”

The mum-of-two said the incident is sinking in and she keeps checking on things. During the first night after the break-in, she kept her window open to check everything was ok at her home.

She said: “My 14-year-old will not be walking home from school alone, following the incident.

“It has changed our lives and the way we live.

“I was so worried they would come back and break into the house.”

She said the most upsetting thing is that her children loved the entertainment items and now cannot use them.

The family said it has insurance to cover the items.

The mum took to Facebook to warn others afterwards.

It happened last Wednesday, June 13.

Essex Police has confirmed an investigation is underway into the break-in at the Wickford home.

Anyone with information about the incident should call the force on 101.