MUM Donna Britten says her seven-year-old son has been traumatised by three men who stole goods from the driveway of their Devizes home.

Ms Britten, 43. of Eastleigh Road, is one of a number of people who reported suspicious activity by men driving a white Ford Transit van on Saturday.

She was shocked when she went out to the front of her house at about 1pm and saw the men taking metal items from her garden. She said: "I went out to put something in the bin and saw two men on the driveway.

"They had some of our things in their hands. I shouted at them to ask what they thought they were doing and they said they were collecting scrap."

She told them the items were not scrap but they just carried on. She was so angry at their blatant act that she took a picture on her mobile phone of the men and the registration number of their van and then rang the police.

She said: "My elder son wondered what was going on and when he realised he was quite upset. He is worried they are going to come back again. The items they took are not worth a lot of money but you do not expect people to just turn up and steal things from your driveway.

"Saying they are collecting scrap is obviously just an excuse. I was a bit scared when I confronted them but I was not going to back down. There were three of them in total.

"They did not have a local accent. Their English was not very good. I would say they were in their mid 30s and were wearing jeans. But they were not scruffy or dirty. We have now made sure that nothing is left on our driveway."

Her partner Graham Hemmings was at work at the time of the incident and Ms Britten said she felt vulnerable being at home with just her two young sons.

A number of other people took to community Facebook sites on Saturday to say men of a similar appearance with a white Transit had been seen taking items from driveways in Pewsey and Melksham.

A spokesman for Wiltshire police said: "Devizes police have received a number of reports of theft from driveways and suspicious activity by males driving a white Ford Transit van, this matter is being investigated. Anyone with information is asked to contact Devizes Neighbourhood Policing team by calling 101. If anyone sees an offence taking place they should call 999 immediately."