SHOTGUNS stolen from a Felixstowe house have still not been recovered – but police said today that finding the weapons was a priority.It is not known if the criminals with the guns are local and now hiding them in the town, or whether they visited the resort to carry out the raids in a quick hit.

SHOTGUNS stolen from a Felixstowe house have still not been recovered – but police said today that finding the weapons was a priority.

It is not known if the criminals with the guns are local and now hiding them in the town, or whether they visited the resort to carry out the raids in a quick hit.

Officers say there was nothing to suggest the burglars were looking for guns and they appear to have simply struck lucky.

The shotguns were taken from a property in Thornley Road, one of four upmarket homes broken into in Old Felixstowe by the same gang within a few hours of each other.

The thieves appear to have targeted larger properties in quiet roads where they might have expected to get away with expensive items.

The guns taken were an AYA 12 bore side by side, a FLG 12 bore single barrelled, a Midland 12 bore single barrelled, and a R Tilney 12 bore side by side. The break in happened between 8am on Thursday and 9.10am Friday.

A police spokeswoman said: "There is nothing at this stage to suggest that this property was targeted because of the guns.

"The guns were locked in a secure cabinet as they should have been but the burglars broke the cabinet open.

"It is not yet known whether the burglars were from Felixstowe or not and this is part of the investigation in progress.

"We want to get hold of these guns and take them out of circulation as soon as possible."

People could not buy cartridges for the guns without showing a shotgun certificate at a shop to prove them were licensed to use them.

The raiders also broke into another property on Thursday in Thornley Road. The owners are still compiling a list of what has been stolen.

The other raids took place in Links Avenue, where a house was entered between 2.30pm and 6.45pm but nothing was believed to have been taken, and in Whinyard Way – off Westmorland Road – where a quantity of jewellery, including items of Celtic design, were stolen between 2.30pm and 6.45pm.

The raids are being linked and detectives have appealed for anyone with information, or who saw or heard anything suspicious, especially people or vehicles hanging around the area, to contact them.

"We would like to hear from anyone who saw anything unusual or that seemed a bit out of place," said the spokeswoman.

"Let us make the decision on whether a piece of information is relevant or not, it may just be the piece which links all the others together and leads us to the people behind these crimes."

Anyone with information is asked to contact Felixstowe CID on 01473 613500 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

n Should people be allowed to keep guns at home? Is it time for the law to change? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Stret, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail EveningStarLetters@eveningstar.co.uk