A FAMILY hoping to make a fresh start in Swindon have had all their Christmas presents stolen.

The Bruton family, who are originally from South Wales, only moved in to their home in Bruce Street, Rodbourne, three weeks ago.

Now they face a miserable Christmas with no presents after thieves ransacked their home in the early hours of Tuesday morning and made off with £800 worth of gifts, much of which was second-hand.

Among the items stolen were a computer, a Playstation 2 games console, jewellery and numerous DVDs.

A Christmas hamper, containing about £170 of food and drink, was also taken.

Jayne, 40, and her husband Stephen, 37, who are both unemployed, were hoping for a better future when they decided to leave their home town of Neath, near Swansea, with children Kellie, 18, and Natalie, 16.

Mrs Bruton said: "This was our chance to make a new life. We wanted a better life for our children and we thought Swindon was a nice town and had good opportunities.

"My husband and I have been scrimping and saving all year to buy these presents. We had been saving £3 a week for the past year to buy all the food and drink.

"Then you get some idiot who decides to break in and steal them."

On Monday, the couple had travelled to Wales to collect the presents, along with some other belongings, which they had stored at the home of their eldest daughter, Alison.

Mrs Bruton added: "We were so tired when we got back that we just dumped all the presents on the floor in the living room and went straight to bed."

The family did not hear anything as the thieves broke in downstairs.

Mr Bruton, who is hoping to set up his own record collection business in Swindon, said he struggles to find the words to describe those responsible.

He said: "It's a great welcome to Swindon. I suppose there are people like this all over the country but for it to happen just after we moved is difficult to accept."

Because a lot of the presents were second-hand, the family were hoping the thieves would have been sympathetic but they were wrong.

"They took everything," said Mr Bruton.

"They knew exactly what they were looking for. We thought that they might realise we are a struggling family and leave some of it.

"We've checked the garden to see if anything has been dumped but there's nothing."

Police are investigating and spokeswoman Alvina Kumar said: "We are appealing for anyone who knows about this burglary to get in touch to help rescue this family's Christmas."

Anyone with information has been asked to call 01793 528111.