A NEWPORT couple have said they no longer “feel safe” in their own home after they were burgled for a second time last month.

Les Bennett, 59, and his wife Sue, 55, of Cwm Cwddy Villas, were horrified to discover that their house had been raided while they were at work on June 16.

Among the items stolen were a ladies 18 carat gold snake necklace and bracelet, a ladies 18 carat white hold channel set diamond bracelet, a ladies diamond slider and a men's Tissot watch with a brown strap.

Recalling that horrific moment she pulled up to her home to see her front door smashed in, at around 4.10pm, Mrs Bennett said the first thing that struck her was the smell of an e-cigarette inside.

“The first thing I smelt this horrible smell – it was obviously one of those vaporised things," she said. "I thought, ‘Was he still in the house?’ So I knocked on my neighbour’s door.

“My neighbour popped his head in the door and then I saw all the devastation at the back of the house. I went upstairs and just every single thing was tipped up. It was just devastating.

“I felt physically sick. There was so much glass....I think it’s something that will stay with me for a very long time.“

The couple had been previously burgled in 2004 and decided not to replace the jewellery that was stolen on that occasion, although any new purchases were insured.

Mr Bennett, a construction manager, said he feels the house was targeted because one of their cars was at the garage at the time and not outside the house as usual.

He said: “It’s just gut wrenching. I’ve been burgled here before and it’s no different at all. It makes you feel sick to your feet. We just don’t feel safe anymore.

“We work hard for these things and we buy nice things and then it’s taken away from you. That loss is almost like a bereavement in a sense.

“It’s not just about the pound notes, your privacy has been invaded. Someone’s being through your personal items at home.”

Mrs Bennett believes the anxiety the couple feel in their home, which she now likens to a prison, will never go away.

“We’re not extravagant people – we don’t go out and we keep ourselves to ourselves," she added.

“I don’t like leaving my house. When I’m in work, I’m thinking, ‘What’s going on?’ Now when I come home, I lock the front door and lock the back door.”

Police believe the burglary was linked to a separate incident just a mile away at Birch Trees on May 26, when thousands of pounds worth of jewellery, electronics and designer sunglasses were stolen.

If you have any information regarding the burglaries, you are asked to call Gwent Police on 101 quoting log number: 358 16/06/16