Hove mother bound and gagged in robbery at her home

Three men tied up, gagged and blindfolded a woman from Hove during a robbery at her home at the weekend.

One of the men was wearing a rubber Halloween mask as he attacked the woman at about 5pm on Saturday (1 December).

She was grabbed as she came out of the bathroom in her home in Amberley Drive in Hangleton.

Sussex Police said: “She was gagged and blindfolded and then taken downstairs and tied up in the lounge.

“The suspects ransacked the house and made off a short time later with a large amount of cash and Asian gold jewellery.”

When they left, after about half an hour, they also made off with various items of computer equipment belonging to the woman who is in her thirties.

She was left bound and gagged and later found scared and shaken by a friend.

Sussex Police said: “The victim’s three-year-old daughter was asleep at the time in an upstairs bedroom.”

Detective Constable Chris Bishop, from Brighton and Hove CID, said: “This was clearly a horrible and distressing incident for the victim and, fortunately, neither her nor her young daughter were physically injured.

“We believe this was a targeted attack and that someone will know who is responsible for it.

“At this time we are keeping an open mind as to if this is linked to similar incidents that have occurred throughout the country.”

One of the suspects was described as 5ft 6in tall. He was wearing blue mechanic style overalls with a hood, black gloves and a rubber Halloween mask with a tiger design on it. He spoke with an English accent.

The two other suspects spoke both English and Urdu with Pakistani accents.

The stolen items included a Toshiba laptop, a red Nintendo DS games system, a Digital Quran MDQ200 computer, a Praktica Luxmedia digital camera and a ladies gold Seiko 5 watch.

Anyone with information is urged to call Sussex Police on 101 or the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.