TWO Teignbridge homes were broken into in the early hours of the morning while the owners were inside.

The first incident in Newton Abbot saw intruders break into a house where a couple were asleep with their nine month old baby.

In both break-ins, cars were stolen.

At Buckland, the stolen car was later recovered nearby but the roof console had been ripped out, thought to be to disable the tracking system.

The car owner said: ‘These guys were in our house at 2am whilst me, my wife and our nine month old baby were asleep.’

The same night, a similar incident which police believe is linked, happened in Dawlish when thieves broke into the property while the occupants were in bed.

They heard a noise and saw torch light in the hall downstairs.

The owner said: ‘Obviously this was extremely frightening. We ran downstairs to confront whatever situation we were going to be faced with.

‘This is our home, how dare they think they can just enter and take what they want.

‘The audacity of these vile specimens is just unbelievable.

‘We disturbed them and by the time we got downstairs they were already out of the front door, in the car and driving away.

‘Had we got downstairs 10 seconds earlier it could have been a very different story.’

A police spokesman said: ‘Officers were called on Monday August, 31 to Flete Avenue, Newton Abbot, at around 3am following a report of a burglary and the theft of a car from the driveway. Items stolen included a pram and other baby equipment.

‘On the same night, police were also called to a burglary in Carhaix Way, Dawlish, at around 3.30am during which a car was also stolen. The vehicle stolen in Newton Abbot has since been recovered.

‘The two burglaries and thefts are believed to be linked.’

Officers appealed for anyone with information or dash-cam footage to contact police via the website or by calling 101 quoting reference number 50260232737/ 50260232756.