AN Aladdin's Cave of stolen goods worth tens of thousands of pounds from burglaries in Suffolk and Essex has been seized by police.

AN Aladdin's Cave of stolen goods worth tens of thousands of pounds from burglaries in Suffolk and Essex has been seized by police.

The treasure trove of more than 300 items was recovered when a property in Stonham Aspal was raided last month.

Officers are now inviting burglary victims from across the two counties to get in touch with them after items of property including furniture, paintings, ornaments, silverware and jewellery were discovered as part of an ongoing investigation.

Some owners have been reunited with items found to have come from burglaries in Essex, Stratford St Mary, Ipswich and the Leiston area.

However Suffolk Constabulary is asking anyone who may have lost items in the past few years to get in touch to try to speed up the process of trawling through existing records.

Detective Inspector David Rutterford, who is leading the investigation, said; “Officers have been working for six weeks to photograph and catalogue the items, and have been researching crimes and working with neighbouring forces to try to identify where they may have come from.

“As you will appreciate this is no easy task and we are asking anyone who may have been the victim of a burglary where similar objects were taken to get in touch with us so we can see if your property is among the items recovered.

“To value the haul would be a lengthy process, but it is fair to say there is thousands of pounds worth of property that we would like to get back to its rightful owners.”

The pieces recovered range from small flower ornaments and delicate antique jewellery through to wooden furniture, paintings and even framed film posters. The haul also includes a folding bicycle, several old style Gramophones and a CB radio.

Suffolk Police will be holding several viewing days in Halesworth between Monday and Sunday, February 15, and anyone who thinks there may be property belonging to them in the collection is being invited to call to make an appointment to see the items.

A special hotline number - 01986 835319 - has been set up for anyone who may have had similar property stolen in the past few years and a selection of the items are also available to view on the Suffolk Constabulary website at www.suffolk.police.uk

When calling to make an appointment to view the items officers will ask for some basic information about your burglary - and any crime reference number you may have would be useful.

People will then be invited to make an appointment to view the items. There will also be a requirement to provide some proof the item belongs to you, but officers will be happy to talk this through with you.