A FAMILY followed a trail of Magnum ice cream wrappers in the hope of recovering stolen possessions, after they were one of a dozen victims of thieves who have struck at homes in Trowbridge.

Bikes have been favourite targets for the criminals, leaving one young victim terrified because he thought the ‘killer clowns’ had taken the gift he received for his birthday only a month ago.

Numerous break-ins have been reported to police in seven days, with homes on the east of town and in Hilperton and Staverton worst hit.

The Miller family in Staverton slept as burglars broke into their adjoining garage, making off with a grey mountain bike and a black and red Apollo mountain bike, both worth £100, a neon green child’s bike, a Ryobi hammer drill, a chisel set and a screwdriver bit set.

They also raided the freezer and stole a box of Magnum ice creams as well as a box of Stella lager and bottles of wine.

John Miller, 46, and his wife Sue, 41, who have lived in the village for 10 years, realised they had been burgled when they found scattered food from the freezer all over the garage floor one morning. Their son Billy, a pupil at Staverton School, was devastated to find thieves had taken his first ‘grown-up’ bike, a recent birthday present.

“Normally my car is parked up close against the garage to stop anyone from trying to get in but this one night my car was getting an MoT and the mechanic parked his van, which he left here, outside the house instead.

“You expect the people that break into places to take bikes and tools but we found the box of ice cream so weird. We found a trail of wrappers up the road when we walked up to see if they had dumped anything.

“It is surprising to hear that it has happened so much in the area because many people have said they have never heard of anything like it.

“Trying to replace the items is a lot more difficult than we thought, because some of the items have sentimental value.

“Our son thought it was the clowns that are going around who stole his bike, and that was the most upsetting thing.”

Other burglaries in the area in the last few days include three homes in Wyke Road, and one each in Withy Close, Newleaze, Hornby Walk, Towpath Road and Hill Street. Police say they have received between 10-15 reports from this area of town alone, with the crimes happening between October 10 and Tuesday this week.

Community co-ordinator PC Mark Hough said: “It is important that people report offences to police, even if nothing is stolen, to stop the mindless vandals from targeting other people.”

“Obviously it is clear we are suffering from a spate of burglaries in the town at present. It is a local priority and all our officers are briefed in regard to the vulnerable areas and we are patrolling accordingly.

“Burglary is a serious criminal offence that we will deal with robustly.”

To report a burglary call police on 101 or 999 in an emergency.