DETECTIVES today appealed for information from across East Lancashire after a collection of guns was stolen from a house.

Five firearms, together worth more than £1,000, were stolen in the burglary.

The guns, all legally owned and properly registered, were stolen from a house in Burnley Road, Cliviger, near Burnley, overnight between Wednesday and Thursday.

Detectives said today they were treating the burglary as "serious" and issued an appeal for information to prevent the guns being used in a criminal act.

Officers are also investigating whether the burglary, which happened overnight between Wednesday and Thursday, could be linked to another break-in in Mount Lane and an attempted burglary in Burnley Road which both took place around the same time. Burglars are thought to have forced a rear door at the terraced property.

Guns stolen were a 12-bore Grumark side-by-side shotgun, a .410 Belgian single-barrelled shotgun, a 12-bore Greener single-barrelled shotgun, a 9mm Webley and Scott shotgun and a 12-bore Wakefield side-by-side shotgun.

In the second burglary, in Mount Lane, a Packard Bell computer, monitor, webcam and digital camera were among items stolen, worth a total of £900.

Police also reported that an attempt had been made to force entry to another house in Burnley Road through a rear window, but that the offender had been unable to get in.

DC Simon Chater, of Burnley CID, said: "At this stage we don't know whether the burglaries were linked and we don't know whether the burglars were deliberately looking for guns.

"We are treating this as very serious as we don't want firearms in the hands of someone who might use them in a criminal act.

"We will be revisiting the scene and are appealing for information about the burglary."

Anyone with information about the burglary should call Burnley CID on 01282 472144.