Scheming burglars got a nasty shock when a mother-of-three from Minety chased them after they looted £1,200 of goods from her property.

Nicky Hedderwick from Flisteridge Road, in Upper Minety, was up at around 5.30am last Thursday when she heard noise coming from downstairs.

Thinking it was her children, she switched on the heating and went into the living room. But standing there were two men brazenly stealing as much equipment as they could.

Mrs Hedderwick's husband, Gerald, who was asleep at the time, said: "My wife yelled and they flew past her, hiding their faces. She then chased one of them in our car and she got 200 yards around the corner when she saw one of them duck into a building site. When I came down she had already gone and I called the police. We rumbled them and they got away with what they could. This is a heinous crime. People in the village are left very afraid by this."

Mr Hedderwick, an electronics engineer, said the burglars gained entry after his wife opened the front door earlier that morning, to let the cat in.

The burglars stole a £700 Toshiba satellite SPA 40 laptop computer (serial number 44024940), a £185 Sony digital camera, a £184 Bosch cordless drill, a £40 chess computer, a diamond-coated 11-piece drill set worth £28, and a handbag worth £140.

Mr Hedderwick said: "They knew what they were doing. It was like they were going shopping for stuff to sell. Nicking your tools is like nicking your livelihood.'

Police believe the same burglars were responsible for stealing nearly £3,000 worth of property from Kevin Holdway in Upper Minety on the same night.

PC Rachel Webb from Malmesbury police said officers are looking for a Swindon milkman who was on his delivery at the time and might have seen the burglars.