BURGLARS broke into the home of lifelong Avebury resident Jane Lees on the day before her funeral on Monday.
Mrs Lees, who was one of the few Avebury residents who had lived in the village all her life, died on June 7 aged 76. Police believe that the thieves who forced a back door to get in may have been alerted by death notices published in both national and local newspapers.
Avebury Parish Council clerk Gretchen Rawlins, a close friend of Mrs Lees, said: "I cannot believe anyone could be so cruel to break into a house on the day before a person is buried."
Police officers together with Mrs Lees' only close relative, her sister Heather Peak-Garland, are still trying to assess what possessions were stolen.
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