A FAMILY have urged members of the Asian community in Basingstoke to be cautious after their house was burgled last week.

Risham, her husband Yasir and their nine-year-old son Salim were driving to London on Monday, January 27 when they noticed on their CCTV cameras that their Marnel Park house was being burgled by what they called an "organised crime team".

"I’m still in a state of shock," Risham said.

"We thought we were all secured because we had cameras but they still came. It was very scary and we are very scared."

The family have appealed to Asian people in the town to be cautious, saying they are aware of a number of incidents in the town recently where people have targeted Asian households.

Amongst the items stolen, according to the family, are expensive watches, gold and cash.

"What should we do? Does that mean we should not live in normal standards to not stand out? It seems that we are being targeted."

Their concern is so strong that a group of people from the community took their views to Basingstoke MP, Maria Miller, at a neighbourhood policing meeting last week.

Risham said that after reviewing their doorbell camera in the hours leading up to the incident, she noticed three cars staking out the house, waiting for the family to leave.

Risham added that the team of six waited in their cars, with their headlights off, for ten or 15 minutes before breaking in.

Then, four men, with face masks, snoods and gloves armed with "tools" looking like crow bars started walking towards the house, jumping over the fence whilst two men remained in the getaway cars.

She says that the men hit their glass door 15 times to smash it open.

"There was these loud noises when they broke into the garden," Risham continued.

"Straight away the alarm started going off. We got notifications on our phones and didn't realise it was real," she said, thinking it was a false alarm.

It was only when she checked the camera on her phone that the family realised what was going on. Yasir, who was driving, turned around as soon as he could, whilst Risham started phoning the police.

"It was so bad because my child was with us. I could see my son getting so petrified.

"I feel really bad that he had to go through all of that. He was asking whether they are going to come and kill us.

"He was saying all sorts of things like it was a movie because that was what it was like for him.

"We had to pretend that we were fine with everything.

"The monetary loss is such a huge loss but the emotional scar has scarred us for life. Nothing is going to be the same ever again.

"I am not going to have the same freedom of life again because I am going to be worried."

Hampshire Police said they are treating the incident as a burglary.

It comes after section 60 stop and search powers were enacted in the town centre last week following a string of thefts.

A spokesperson for Hampshire Constabulary said: "We are investigating a burglary that occurred between 5.40pm and 5.56pm on Monday, January 27.

"It is believed that a number of suspects gained access to the address by climbing over a side gate and smashing a rear patio window.

"The house has been searched and a safe containing documentation, foreign currency, keys and a number of watches, has been stolen.

"The suspects then made off in a dark, possibly grey coloured, saloon car.

"Householders should take care to secure valuables and ensure doors and windows are kept secured whether you are at home or out and about."