Burglars caught on CCTV leave a muddy trail

A pair of burglars in Auckland who left a muddy trail of footprints on a bed have been caught on CCTV footage.

Devonport resident Helen, who did not want her last name disclosed, said her husband arrived home on Wednesday at about 12.30pm to find the house "upended".

Helen said her son, who was 16 at the time and "just sort of into that stuff", had installed four CCTV cameras around the house a few years ago.

She said they'd never come in handy until this week, when she and her husband sat down to watch their CCTV footage that captured the burglary.

"We just watched it all unfold in front of our eyes. We watched them scoping out the house, and smashing the bedroom window."

The North Shore teacher said it was "pretty devastating" to find their home burgled, and added the thieves left nothing untouched.

"They rifled through all our drawers, it's just creepy. Our bed had muddy footprints all over our duvet."

A PlayStation, laptop, TV, cash, champagne and Helen's engagement ring was stolen.

"They took my son's safe too which has his passport in it."

Helen said she felt "utterly gutted".

"People work hard for their money and things, but it's more than that-- it's such a violation of personal space and you just don't feel safe."

Although the pair of burglars lugged the family's flatscreen TV down the driveway in broad daylight, no neighbours saw anything.

The Devonport resident said she was surprised the thieves didn't destroy the cameras.

"One of them glances up at the camera and hides his face a bit, but I think they assumed they probably weren't working."

Helen said her community had been very supportive, turning up with wine and boxes of chocolate the day of the robbery.

After she posted screenshots of the CCTV footage to Facebook, Helen said she received an interesting message from another North Shore resident.

Photo / Facebook

"I was private messaged by someone the other day that I don't know, who told me two guys had turned up on her property [in Campbell's Bay] saying they'd been sent to clean up the garden.

"She thought it was the same guys."

A police spokeswoman confirmed they had received a report of a burglary at Helen's address, and were "currently working with the complainant on some lines of inquiry".

As inquiries were ongoing, it was unlikely any conclusions could be drawn regarding whether the pair who turned up in Campbell's Bay were the robbers.

"It's unlikely we can draw that conclusion at this early stage in the inquiry."