Darlington family tell of home ransack and flood horror

Rebecca says her daughter Hollie's teddy bears were among items contaminated by flood water

A family forced to move out of their home after it was burgled and flooded over Christmas say their "world has been flipped upside down".

A bathroom sink was blocked and taps left running at the property, in Darlington, causing ceilings to collapse and ruining furniture.

The family returned from visiting relatives to find "two inches of water over the floor".

Durham Police described the burglary as "cruel".

Jewellery, an Xbox, a PlayStation and TV were among the items stolen from the house.

Father Jake, a 35-year-old student, said: "The house was empty while we were away over Christmas. We came back a few days ago with our two-year-old daughter, Hollie, and my 11-year-old daughter, Heidi, from a previous marriage.

"There was two inches of water on the floor. I wondered whether a pipe had burst or the washing machine has broken, but after running upstairs I saw the taps on and realised someone had been in.

"They must've been hoping to find Christmas presents to steal, but we had all of those with us while we were visiting family.

"They took everything we had in the house though, which hurts all the more because we didn't have a lot."

Water from the upstairs bathroom caused ceilings to collapse

Damage to the property is estimated to run into several thousand pounds.

Jake, his two daughters and 30-year-old partner Rebecca have moved into an Airbnb property for the next week or so at the expense of their landlord, after they initially stayed in a nearby Premier Inn.

'In limbo'

"Our landlord has gone above and beyond with his help and we've been lending a hand with the clean-up.

"It's testing our resilience though. Hollie has no routine, and we hadn't been able to cook meals so that was an added expense.

"I feel sad to think someone could do this. Our home has been taken away.

"We'd been on a high as Christmas was a special time for us, visiting family we don't see often. Now we're in limbo."

An online fundraising appeal has been launched by family members to cover the cost of replacing stolen items.

On Friday, Durham Police said it was an "utterly appalling incident". It has asked anyone with information to get in touch.

Carpets destroyed by flood water have had to be removed