BURGLARS stole more than £1,000 worth of antiques and ornaments from two Trowbridge pensioners.

The offenders targeted two bungalows, just 300 yards apart, between Thursday night and Friday morning.

Police said the two elderly women were both out at the time of the raids, and called for witnesses to help them track down the offenders.

The burglars broke into a bungalow in Lowmead, using a bladed weapon to prise open and smash a bedroom window after unsuccessfully trying to break in through a kitchen door. They then stole 10 paperweights, two Royal Doulton figurines and an antique sewing box. The burglars also broke into a bungalow in St Thomas Road, where they gained access by prising open a double-glazed window.

Closing the curtains, the burglars searched the property and made off with a number of Royal Doulton figurines.

PC Mac McLellan, of Trowbridge police, said he wants to talk to any witnesses who heard smashing glass in the Lowmead area or who saw any suspicious people or vehicles in either street.

He also appealed for residents of the two streets to think whether anyone had called at their homes asking to buy china or pottery in the last few weeks.