Cawston resident's warning after pair shone torch through her letterbox in the early hours

The resident, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: "It happened between about 2.10am and 2.40am. I wasn't able to sleep because I wasn't feeling very well."

She saw a light downstairs near the front door and decided to investigate.

She said: "At first I thought it was a car light so I waited a couple of seconds and then it was just pure shock when I realised a stranger was at my door shining a torch through the letterbox.

"Whoever was using the torch was trying to have a good look into the downstairs of the house.

"I tried to think about what I was going to do.

"Firstly I tried to close the letterbox to see if that would scare them - it didn't work.

"Then I turned on the outside light and looked through the net curtains.

"I saw one guy shoot off but the next one just stood there trying to make it look like he wasn't doing anything wrong - then it seemed like he saw me and he ran off too."

She immediately called 999 and said she was impressed by the police's response.

She said: "The police were fantastic, I thought because no-one had got into the property the police wouldn't take it seriously, but officers started patrolling the area to look for them."

The pair were not found and the resident now wishes to warn others.

She said: "Other people I have spoken to have had the same problem. One person I spoke to in Hillmorton experienced something similar three or four weeks ago - so it looks like whoever is doing this could be hitting area by area."

Following the incident, the resident is encouraging Rugbeians to be extra-vigilant and report any suspicious activity they see.

She is also urging people to become involved in their local Neighbourhood Watch schemes - or to form a group if there is not one.

She advised people to keep keys well away from the front door so thieves cannot use devices to reach through the letterbox and snatch them.

Electronic car keys should be kept in a metal box to prevent thieves using electronic devices to hack the keys and steal a car, she advised.

Any suspicious activity should be reported to police by calling 101. If a crime is in progress you should call 999.

For more information on crime prevention and neighbourhood watch schemes, see www.police.uk.