Mum punched by armed burglars (From Daily Echo)

Mum punched by burglars in Totton

12:55pm Wednesday 22nd February 2012 in News By Sian Davies , Senior News Reporter

A MOTHER has told police how she was punched in the face by two burglars one of whom was carrying a gun.

The 35-year-old woman who was at home at the time with her baby answered the door to two men dressed in fluorescent jackets sometime between 9am and 9.45am today.

In their bid to get in the detached property on Testwood Lane in Totton they punched the woman in the face leaving her with facial injuries.

She told police how she thought one of them was armed with a handgun. It is understood they then stole cash from the house and fled.

Police were called to the property soon after and have sealed of the address. Dog units and uniformed patrols have also been scrambled in a bid to find those responsible for the attack.

The woman is being taken to Southampton General Hospital for treatment.

Detective Inspector Fiona Bitters said: “This is a very rare incident in this area and we have a number of officers carrying out enquiries.

"We are trying to piece together the offender’s movements and would like to hear from anyone in Testwood Lane who has CCTV installed at their house or business premises, or anyone who may have seen anything suspicious either this morning or in the last few days.

“We are keen to identify a white transit van that was seen near the address around the time of the incident, and was heading towards Salisbury Road.

“I’d like to reassure local residents that though we are still in the early stages of this investigation we are taking this very seriously and have committed a number of resources to identifying the men responsible as quickly as possible.”

Anyone with any information should call Southampton Central police station on 101 or call the Crimestoppers charity anonymously on 0800 555 111.