East of England burglary gang: Items reunited with victims

Items including a locket of "sentimental value" have been returned to one victim from Suffolk

Police have reunited 21 people with jewellery and other items from a £2m haul stolen by a gang who carried out 250 burglaries across five counties.

About 220 people have come forward to reclaim property which was taken during raids in the east of England.

Police released photographs of thousands of items at the beginning of January to find their owners.

A carriage clock and jewellery, including a locket of "high sentimental value" are among those returned so far.

Twelve men from an extended family were jailed for their roles in stealing jewellery, cash, cars and guns worth a total of £2m during an 11-month crime spree across Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk.

Cambridgeshire Police had already reunited property with 18 owners before making the appeal, but since the beginning of the month they have now identified a further 21 victims.

Watches, medals and coins were among the items taken by the burglars during their crime spree

One woman had jewellery worth about £5,000 taken from her Suffolk home, most of which police said was not recovered.

However, they did find some, including her mother's locket - a gift from her late father on the couple's wedding day - which officers said was of "high sentimental value".

Although police retrieved thousands of items, they believe many more were melted down by the gang.

Officers are continuing to appeal for owners to contact them as they admitted "eventually we will need to sell [those] that aren't claimed".

Power tools, saddles and horse tack were also taken by the burglary gang