A County Durham dad has described his 'shock' and 'grief' after burglars stole from his home and left his family homeless during Christmas week.
The family, who wish to stay anonymous and have two daughters, had been away visiting relatives over the festive period when their home in Blackmoor Close, Darlington, was targeted by burglars.
It is believed that at some point on Christmas Eve, suspects not only ransacked the entire house, but cruelly blocked the sinks and left the taps running, causing the house to flood and ceilings to collapse.
Read more: County Durham family left homeless after thieves break in and flood house for Christmas
Several personal items were also stolen from the property, including a TV and an Xbox, and a PlayStation from their two-year-old daughter's bedroom.
Now, dad Jake has described the scene that the family were subjected to as the reality of the horrific burglary came apparent.
The family had completed an arduous three-and-a-half hour journey from Cambridgeshire where they had been visiting relatives over Christmas.
They arrived back home in Darlington to find their door stuck- in such a state as water damage had swollen the wood. Dad Jake very quickly realised something was wrong.
He explained: "We're in a lot of shock. I don't know how to feel about it. I don't know whether I should feel angry or upset; I just feel nothing at the minute.
"Me and [my wife] both feel like that- just defeated. We're in a hotel at the minute as we can't live here. When I got back to the hotel last night I was shaking. I just keep feeling different things."
"We travelled all day as we were visiting family in Cambridgeshire. We came up and it was three and a half hours in the car and came round the corner and my wife was saying 'I can't wait to have a bath'.
"We pulled up and as I opened the door it was stuck and that was because the water had swollen the wood. I managed to get the door open.
"We had a tub of washing powder and the first thing I saw was the water and the washing power so the first thing I thought was 'the washing machine must be broken'.
It soon become apparent that, rather than their washing machine having broken, they had, in fact, been burgled with thieves even taking games consoles from their child's room.
"But then I came into the house and the carpets were soaked and I could hear running water upstairs. The first thing I did was go upstairs to turn off the taps in the upstairs bathroom.
"That's when I first thought 'oh my god, we've been burgled'. I then went into my little girl's room where I knew her Xbox and PlayStation were and they were gone.
"I went downstairs and noticed that the TV was gone and then went outside and broke it to the family."
The family are now staying in a hotel where they will remain until further notice as work is undertaken to estimate how long it will take for repairs to be completed on the house following the damage incurred.
Jake says he now does not feel safe in his own home and, heartbreakingly, feels guilt for the experience his children are now going through.
He said: "It doesn't feel like we've been targeted but it feels like we've been exposed and what we thought was a safe location has been made not safe.
"I feel like I'm not providing a safe place for my children. I was driving one of my little girls back to her mums and I had my other one in the car and she was crying.
"I felt like she was crying as she wasn't in her bed asleep because I had let her down because I'd allowed this to happen."
He admits that his emotions, as well as that of his family, are in a state of 'fluctuation' and described their current reaction as nothing short of grief-stricken.
"I suppose it feels like we're going through that grief reaction where you feel everything from angry to sad to depressed or whatever," he says.
"I keep fluctuating between emotions at the minute. It's has been for the most difficult Christmas and for everyone. It's ruined our plans for the New Year."
On top of their grief, the incident has, of course, led to several logistical issues for the family with their current living situation meaning that it has become more difficult for them to carry out their work.
"I'm a student as well and I have essays due. It's terribly disrupted my plans for what I need to do there," Jake admits.
"When you remove your safe place of operations, that's your routine gone and I don't know what to do with myself now.
"We don't know at the minute when we can [return home] as we don't know what the full extent of the damage is so once we know what needs to be done, we'll get a better timescale for it.
"We're stuck between wanting to know how long it's going to be but having to wait to find out how long it's going to be."
For now, however, the focus of Jake and his wife remains on their children and ensuring they maintain as normal an existence as possible despite the current upheaval they are experiencing as a family.
He said: "Me and my wife have had to do everything to safeguard the children and make sure they're all warm, clean and fed and we'll worry about ourselves after.
"We'll just have to continue with our routine with work and university and things like that and try and not let it interfere with our lives as best as we can."
During their hour of need, Jake says his family and the local community have rallied to ensure that they have not felt on their own at this difficult time.
"The locals here have come round and offered assistance and I've had family who, obviously, I've seen over Christmas call back and make sure everything is ok and to see if there is anything they could do.
"People from work as well have been offering support and so we do feel good about that, at least."
Incredibly, Jake has taken a more sympathetic position for the plight that those responsible may be in and the situation they must be facing, if they are stooping to stealing from a family at Christmas.
He said: "It makes you angry but I feel a bit of pity [for them]. Putting myself in that position, you have to be really low and desperate to walk into a little girl's room on Christmas Eve and go through her wardrobe and clothes looking for valuables.
"I can't imagine being in that kind of position. I'm not angry but I just wish they weren't in that position.
"If someone knocked on my door on Christmas Eve and was desperate for £20 for some food or whatever I wouldn't turn them away and to take without asking, and for them to be in that position, it's not right."
He added that he hopes that lessons can be learned from the horrific incident and that those responsible would consider 'asking' for help, rather than 'taking' from families such as his.
"I feel like it was unavoidable, if it didn't happen to me, it would've happened to someone else. I wouldn't have ever not seen my family over Christmas also.
"But there's lessons to be learned from it. I guess if someone is in that position, they've got to ask themselves 'should I ask, rather than take?'. I think they might be surprised by how generous people can be."
Anyone with any information that could help with the investigation into this incident is asked to contact PC Haynes of Durham Constabulary at Stefan.Haynes@durham.police.uk quoting incident number 244 of December 28.
Alternatively, information can be passed on to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
A Go Fund Me page has been set up following the burglary which you can donate to here.
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