A WOMAN has struck back against the "scum" who burgled her house and ransacked her daughters' bedrooms by circulating a letter warning neighbours to be vigilant.

Diane Skinner, of Albert Street, Clayton-le-Moors, discovered the break-in at her terrace home when she arrived home from work in the afternoon.

The raiders had smashed the glass panel in the back door to get into the house and rifled through drawers in her two daughters' rooms.

Mrs Skinner said: "Not only did they take all the money I had to my name, they scared my youngest daughter as they had also been in her bedroom, leaving a mess and broken drawer fronts."

The 38-year-old was so angry she wrote a letter and posted it through every letterbox in the street and surrounding area warning neighbours to be on their guard.

She said: "I don't want this to happen to anyone else. They are worthless pieces of scum who lack morals, honesty and feeling.

"I was furious. There's no way I'm letting them think they have got away with it."

Mrs Skinner said the experience had left her shaken and vulnerable as well as her daughters, Claire, 15 and Lauren, 11.

She said: "I feel violated, I really do. It's the privacy thing more than anything and that someone without a care in the world can just walk through my door without being invited.

"They can look through all my personal stuff and the kids', make a mess and leave with anything they can fit in their pockets.

"You really do lose your faith in humanity.

"I hope they eventually get their just deserts and I would just like to say to the morons, get a life instead of ruining someone else's."

Mrs Skinner, a customer services operative, said she was fortunate because she had been decorating and many of her possessions were packed away in boxes. The offenders had targeted mainly upstairs.

Items stolen included a Sanyo digital camera worth £600, nearly £130 cash, and tools from the shed.

A police spokesman said officers were investigating the offence and added: "We always advise people to secure their property in the best way."