Police are appealing for information after an elderly woman was gagged by ‘despicable’ thieves at her home in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Suffolk police were called at around 12.25am this morning to Cavendish, near Sudbury, after receiving reports of a break-in in Nether Road.

Three men had broken into the home just past midnight, with one of the suspects waking a woman in her 70s and covering her mouth before demanding she hand over her belongings.

The two other men searched the victim’s home during this time.

Eventually the woman was able to scream for help and managed to alert her neighbour, who called police and came over to assist.

All three suspects duly fled the scene.

It is not currently clear if any possessions were taken by the thieves.

A police spokesman said the woman was left “extremely shaken” as a result of the incident, but fortunately uninjured.

Two of the suspects are described as being white, between approximately 5ft 6in and 5ft 8in tall.

The third man has been described as black, with dark eyes and very tall in height.

Police have asked anyone who has CCTV or dashcam footage of the Cavendish area between 11pm on Wednesday and 1am on Thursday to come forward, quoting crime reference 21419/20.

Detective Inspector Tam Burgess said: “This was a despicable incident, especially during the current climate when people’s anxieties are already heightened.

“These offenders have traumatised an innocent victim in their own home.

“We continue to support our victim and are actively pursuing all lines of enquiry to locate and detain the people responsible.”

“We ask that anyone who may have been in the local area to consider if they have seen anything or anyone unusual or suspicious.

“We would also ask our community to remain vigilant, especially in respect of neighbours or others nearby who may be vulnerable.

“As the warmer weather arrives it is worth everybody reviewing their home security measurements, making sure that doors and windows and locked when necessary.”