A mum's dream of giving her four children a Christmas to remember has been shattered by burglars who stole all their presents.

The thieves broke into the house of Rachel Shields while she was out, but with her teenage son ill in bed upstairs.

They jammed an ironing board against his door, trapping him inside, and locked the dog out of the way, and then ransacked the house, stealing £1,500 worth of presents from another bedroom.

They also tried to steal the television from the front room, cracking the screen when it proved too heavy for them to take away.

Her three other children were not in the house at the time, as they were staying with their grandparents.

Rachel, 34, of Elmfield Drive, Odsal, Bradford said all the presents had been wrapped already, and stowed away in readiness for Christmas Day.

She said: "They broke in while I was out in Halifax, and wedged an ironing board against the door of my 16-year-old son's room.

"If there had been a fire he would have been trapped. It doesn't bear thinking about.

"They tried to steal the television but it was obviously too big for them to lift. They cracked the screen trying to steal it."

She says she has no way of paying for the damage and the loss of the presents because she has no insurance.

She said: "I had saved up for half the year to buy them the presents. It's so unfair. My youngest two children are devastated."

Among the presents that had been taken were an MP3 player, clothes and two Bratz dolls.

She said: "I saved hard and had managed to buy them everything they wanted.

"My youngest daughters Naomi, ten, and Chloe, nine, had written notes to Santa asking for everything they wanted and for once they were going to get it, but not now."

Detective Inspector John Minary, West Yorkshire police crime reduction officer, said: "If you're going out or even if you're in, make sure doors and windows are locked. Also, don't underestimate the importance of leaving a light on when you go out. It can act as a real deterrent to burglars.

"Make sure your valuables, including Christmas presents, aren't on show.

"It's important to remember a few simple steps to reduce the risk of crime.

"It's a fact that there are more opportunities for thieves during the festive season, but we'd urge people to just take that extra bit more care

and have a safe and secure Christmas."

Police have appealed to anyone with information about the burglary, which happened between 8.30pm and 12.50am last Saturday, to contact them on (01274) 376459.