A WOMAN in Chirton told of her fear after she came home to find a burglar in her house. The incident took place when the woman, who does not want to be named, returned home in The Street shortly before 5pm on Thursday.

She had been away from her home for no more than 25 minutes.

She said: "I had just gone to speak to a neighbour up the road. I didn't want to be gone long because I was expecting visitors.

"When I came back, my friends had arrived and we went into the house. As we were taking off our shoes I saw something drop past the window.

"I turned just in time to see the man run off. It all happened so quickly."

The householder went to her bedroom and found that the intruder had made his exit through the window, moving items from her dressing table to make good his escape.

Unfortunately, he had taken five rings that she had left on the dressing table, all of which are of immense sentimental value.

She said: "They were my engagement ring, the ring my husband gave me on our 25th wedding anniversary, two eternity rings and one that had belonged to my husband's grandmother.

"That affects me the most deeply, because it was given to me in the most wonderful circumstances. I loved them all and desperately want them back."

The police were called and discovered that the man had broken in through the ground floor dining room window.

He had taken a mobile phone, the handset of a cordless phone, and £150 cash in addition to the rings, which have been valued at £3,000.

The rings were all gold and held a selection of diamonds, rubies and emeralds.

Despite their fleeting glimpse, the householder and her friends, a couple who had just arrived from Cornwall, were able to give a good description of the intruder.

He is white, about 19, about 5ft 10in tall and of slim build.

He had thin facial features with a long pointed nose and a pale complexion.

He was wearing blue denim jeans, trainers, a top possibly with white stripes and either a hat or a hood.

The householder said: "At first I thought he was wearing a cap, but on thinking back I realised I couldn't see a neck, so I'm pretty sure he was wearing one of those tops with a hood."

She added: "This has left me very shaken.

"This is such a nice village and it is not something you expect to happen, especially in broad daylight."

The house where the burglary took place is in a Neighbourhood Watch area. Police have asked other people in the village to tell them if they saw anything suspicious last Thursday afternoon.

Anyone with information about the burglary should contact Sgt Andy Peach at Pewsey police station on (01672) 562222 or ring the confidential Crimestoppers line on 0800 555 111.

Last Wednesday in a break-in at St Peter's vicarage in Bath Road, Devizes, property worth £937 was stolen when a thief forced a fanlight window in the kitchen between 7.10am and 6pm.

Among the items stolen were a Thompson DVD player and remote control, an Anne Klein silver bracelet watch and silver bracelet, a Playstation console and 20 games.

Anyone with information about this burglary should contact Devizes police station on (01380) 722141.

Wiltshire police say that figures issued in January showed that crime in the county fell by five per cent between April and December last year.

The overall number of burglaries fell by 193, or ten per cent.