A SOUTHAMPTON woman was confronted by a burglar in her flat after she disturbed him.

The thief snatched her handbag and fled, in one of two burglaries at flats in Wilton Avenue in consecutive days.

The first house was broken into on December 5, and when the 40-year-old female occupant returned home at 6.45pm she found a man inside.

He had entered by forcing a ground floor window open, and when disturbed took her handbag from her before fleeing.

The bag contained two mobile phones and a purse with bank cards in it.

The man is described as white, 25 years old, 5ft 11ins tall and skinny.

He was clean shaven but had slight stubble on his top lip, and he wore a beige bobble hat, grey jogging trousers and a three-quarter length yellow and brown jacket.

The second burglary took place the next day.

The 24-year-old tenant returned home to find the burglar had smashed a front door window, reached inside and opened the door.

A Dell laptop was taken during the break-in, which happened between 8.45am and 6.30pm on December 6. PC Chris Orr at Shirley CID urged residents of the area to be vigilant. “The targeted premises tend to be multioccupancy student flats.

When the residents are out, they really must make sure the property is left secure.

“If possible, internal doors should be locked to prevent further searches. It is not enough to lock just the front and back doors of multi-occupancy properties.”

Anyone with information about the burglaries should contact Shirley CID on 101.