A mum has blazoned a message outside her house to burglars who climbed through her window and stole money that was given to her as a birthday present.

Ipswich Star: Miss Alexander's message to her burglars.Miss Alexander's message to her burglars.

Thieves climbed through Mandy Alexander’s dining room window at her home in Ipswich’s Spring Road, near to the junction of Cauldwell Hall Road, and took £59 from her handbag while she and her children were sleeping.

Miss Alexander reported the crime to police but has now decided to take matters into her own hands by putting up a sign by her front gate letting the culprits know the impact of their actions.

Speaking to the Ipswich Star, Miss Alexander said: “It had a dramatic affect on my finances and my ability to provide for my kids. It made me feel sick to the stomach.”

The break-in happened around 3am on Sunday, September 11 after Miss Alexander had friends over to her house for a party the night before to celebrate her 40th birthday.

In her purse Miss Alexander had £10 that was given to her as a gift from her best friend and the rest of the money was to be spent on food for her and her two teenage children.

Miss Alexander said she was already struggling for cash after having her tax credits wrongly stopped for around seven weeks, and was relying on food parcels and loans of milk and bread from the nearby corner shop to get by.

“It has put a dampener on this house,” she added. “It has been a pretty awful experience. £59 to me is an awful lot of money – £5 is an awful lot of money being a single mum. I don’t have a lot of money so every bit I have counts.

“I put that sign outside my house and lots of people have stopped and read it so I know it’s doing some good. I’m not taking it down until I know that the message is getting out there.”

Suffolk Constabulary is investigating the theft and anyone who can help is asked to call police 101 quoting reference 54815/16.