Horrified young mum says she 'feels sorry' for the burglars who broke into her Harborough home and stole her savings, jewellery and children's toys

A shocked young single mum has blasted “disgusting” burglars who broke into her home in Market Harborough and stole cash and jewellery worth over £4,000.

Horrified Gemma Arnold, 30, is hoping the raiders are caught before they strike again after they plundered all her savings for her two little boys.

The distraught town centre waitress said she feels “sorry” for the offenders because they have to “inflict pain” on innocent people like herself.

Gemma spoke out after being reduced to tears by the devastating break-in as she made an emotion-charged appeal for the return of her Tiffany and Pandora jewellery – and her sons’ toys.

Brave Gemma, of Northampton Road, Market Harborough, told the Harborough Mail: “I’m devastated.

“I just can’t believe that this has happened to me and my two little boys – and it’s left me feeling very scared.

“The people who did this are disgusting.

“How can they think it’s right to break into someone else’s home and do this to them?”

Speaking powerfully but with quiet dignity, she added: “I feel sorry for them because they have to inflict pain on other people like me.

“They broke into my house just to make money.

“And yet they could see the pictures of my lovely boys and they could see that I’m on my own here.

“It’s horrible and it’s left me very shaken up.

“It’s so intrusive and sinister and right now I don’t want to be here in my own house.

“That’s how bad something like this makes you feel.”

Gemma, whose two sons are aged four and seven, said the offenders struck between 9am on Tuesday August 4 and 9pm on Thursday August 6.

“We’d gone away to Bournemouth for a couple of days to have a little summer break by the seaside.

“We stayed in a chalet and the boys loved it on the beach,” said Gemma, who works part-time at Zizzi’s restaurant on the High Street in Market Harborough.

“I drove back home on Thursday night.

“We went in and everything appeared to be fine.

“But my oldest son suddenly came running down from his bedroom to tell me that his Minecraft figures had gone.

“He’s obsessed with them and was very upset.

“He said his X-box had also gone.

“I went into my bedroom and saw straight away that we had been burgled.

“The drawer in my dressing table had been pulled out.

“All the drawers had been pulled out.”

The divorced mum-of-two said her personal safe had been stolen from under her bed.

“I had about £2,000 savings in there for my boys.

“I was going to put the money in the bank but then the lockdown happened.

“I also had jewellery in the safe worth about £2,000 if not more,” said Gemma.

“I had a Tiffany necklace with two little hearts on it.

“I’ve always wanted it and I’ve just been given it by my boyfriend.

“I also had a Tiffany bracelet and Tiffany earrings stolen.

“On top of that I’ve had a beautiful Pandora bracelet and a Pandora necklace, which must be worth £500 each, taken.

“Our three passports were also stolen – which makes me worry about identity theft.

“My youngest boy’s passport has now been recovered.

“But mine and my oldest son’s are still missing.

“But it’s having the boys’ toys stolen which has upset me the most.

“What sort of people would pinch a boy’s X-box and his Minecraft figures?”

She said that some of her belongings have now been found strewn along the popular Brampton Valley Way – the 14-mile rail trail that runs to Northampton.

“A dog walker going along the path near my house on Friday found a handbag which had been dumped.

“It contained a TV fire stick, my underwear, the X-box and some cheaper jewellery,” said Gemma.

“I just can’t understand why they would want to steal a pair of my knickers.

“My mother-in-law went for a bike ride along there and found boxes of stuff taken from my house empty.

“That makes me think they must have broken in on Thursday because otherwise these items would surely have been found by a cyclist, dog walker or runner earlier in the week.”

The young mum said the shattering break-in has turned her world upside down.

“The police are not even sure yet how they managed to get in.

“The fact that I live on a busy road in Market Harborough and they still broke in makes it even worse in a way,” said Gemma.

“It makes me wonder if the burglars have been watching me and knew I was by myself.

“I suffered from a bit of anxiety anyway.

“I live on my own and I’m scared, I don’t want to be on my own.

“I can’t sleep.

“My boyfriend is going to stay with me for now.

“But it’s very raw.

“I’d just like to thank my neighbours for supporting me.

“And I want to say a big thank you to the kind people who have found my things and handed them in and told the police.

“I’m getting a dog now to help me feel more secure and to stop this happening again.

“And I’d just like to warn other people in Market Harborough to be extra careful and watchful.”

She is also appealing to anyone offered her jewellery on the internet or face to face to alert police immediately.

“They will have to sell it to cash in, obviously.

“So if you are offered any of my jewellery please contact the police straight away,” said Gemma.

“Let’s try to catch the people responsible and lock them up before they do it again to someone else.

“I was just starting to get back on my feet and to feel strong again after getting divorced – then this happens.

“But I will do all I can to bounce back for my sake and my boys’.”

A Leicestershire Police spokeswoman said: “Police are investigating a burglary at a property in Market Harborough earlier this week.

“It is reported to have happened between 9am on Tuesday (4 August) and 9pm last night (6 August) at a house in Northampton Road.

“Stolen from the house was a games console, a quantity of cash and jewellery.”

She added: “How the property was entered remains under investigation.

“Enquiries are ongoing into the incident and anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101 quoting 20*407206.”