A hospital worker who was burgled while she slept said she's "absolutely terrified" and doesn't feel safe in her own home anymore.
Elaine Kelly had just finished her night shift at the hospital but woke to find her house had been burgled and the intruder had been walking around while she slept. Ms Kelly returned home from her shift and went to sleep shortly after 9am.
But when she woke two hours later and couldn't find her phone she realised something was wrong. The 54-year-old from Walton thought she had misplaced her phone but after searching her flat she saw her purse and car keys were also missing from her bag.
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Ms Kelly told the ECHO she went to ask her neighbour for help looking for the missing items. When she went outside she noticed her car wasn't parked outside anymore and realised someone must have been inside her flat.
Ms Kelly said the most "terrifying" thing was the burglar had walked around in her home while she slept. Ms Kelly said she sleeps with her bedroom door open because it has a baby gate for when she looks after her grandchildren.
She dreads to think what would have happened if she had woken while the burglar was in her home or if they broke in while she was looking after children.
She said: "I sleep with my bedroom door open wide because of the baby gate on it. The burglar would have walked straight past me and seen me in my bed asleep. It's just so scary. I woke up at 11.20am and my car had been taken just 20 minutes before. It could have been much worse if I was awake.
"I just don't feel safe anymore. I lie there thinking if they could get in again and every little noise I hear I think they've come back."
Ms Kelly said her locks have been changed on the flat and she now has a Ring doorbell but she still feels scared being alone and has no where else she can go. Merseyside Police found her car down the road and are forensically examining it.
But she said some things taken are irreplaceable. Her phone had "everything on it" including pictures of her family and she fears she will never get it back. Her purse also contained a number of items she feels "lost" without.
Ms Kelly told the ECHO : "I can claim back on insurance my car but my purse had things in I'm only just remembering now. I had three little coins on a bit of string that my sister gave to me before she died. I kept it all these years - it was supposed to be lucky."
A Merseyside Police spokesperson told the ECHO : "We were contacted at 11.50am on Monday April 4 following reports that an unknown person had entered a flat on Brook Road in Liverpool between 9.30am and 11.20am and stolen a purse and mobile phone together with the keys to a Dacia Sandero Comfort.
"The car was later recovered. An investigation is underway and CCTV, witness and forensic enquiries have been carried out. Anyone with information is asked to DM @MerPolCC or @CrimestoppersUK on 0800 555 111 quoting reference 22000230878."
