A FAMILY-of-five say they are ‘traumatised’ after thieves broke in and ransacked their home before making off with more than £40,000 worth of vehicles.

Carl Bridge was on holiday in Spain with his partner Anita Higginson and their two children when thieves targeted their home on Bluebell Drive, Huncoat, on August 16, stealing two motorcycles and a car which was less than six months old.

Ms Higginson’s 21-year-old son, who did not join them on holiday due to university commitments, was asleep in bed upstairs when the break-in took place and has been left ‘extremely shaken-up’ by the ordeal that took place in the middle of the night over a period of three hours.

Mr Bridge said: “They took out the whole back kitchen window and were able to let themselves in.

“They then rifled through every nook and cranny downstairs before they found keys for two motorbikes which are kept in the garage and my partner’s car which was on the drive.

“My partner’s son was asleep upstairs at the time and waking up to find this had happened has been a traumatic experience for not just him, but all of us.”

It is believed the thieves drove the car, a black Peugeot 3008 with the registration number PE18 AEY, from the property before loading the two motorcycles into a white van.

One of the machines was a green and black Kawasaki Ninja with the registration number RE17 NZN and the other was a white and blue BMW with the registration number YG15 WPR.

The three vehicles’ combined value is thought to be more than £40,000.

Mr Bridge said: “One of the motorbikes belongs to a friend of mine and, naturally, he is devastated too.

“Every Sunday we would go out on the bikes and just get away for a few hours.

“That has been taken away from us now.

“We have worked hard for what we have and the thieves thieving scumbags have taken that away from us.”

The 49-year-old added that his two young children are now terrified to stay in the house.

He said: “We had to explain to them what happened and now they’re petrified a ‘bad man’ might come back.

“We want people to be aware that this has happened and also appeal to anyone who may have overheard or seen anything relating to this crime.”

Anybody with any information on the thefts can contact the police on 101 quoting reference number ED1818837.