FOUR shotguns and ammunition have been stolen from a house in Great Harwood in an 'isolated, targeted burglary'.

The items were reported stolen after the owner returned home to an address in the Windsor Road area yesterday evening.

The theft is thought to have happened between 6am and 6pm.

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It is believed the thieves gained entry to the house by cutting through a back door.

Sgt Caroline Rigby from Blackburn Police said: “This was an isolated, targeted burglary where we think that the thieves have deliberately broken in for these items.

“Whilst we don’t think there is any wider threat to the public, we do appreciate that this is concerning for people and so we would like to reassure residents that we have stepped up patrols in the area and we have a number of officers working on finding the people responsible and recovering the firearms.

“If you saw any suspicious activity in the area during the day or you have any information that could help us with our investigation, please get in touch with us as soon as possible.”

The stolen items are a Beretta 12 bore self-loading shotgun, an Armi Renato 12 bore single shotgun, an Escort 12 bore self-loading shotgun and a Breda 12 bore self-loading shotgun along with some assorted cartridges.

Anyone with information can call us on 101 quoting incident reference 1082 of January 19th. Alternatively Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555111 or online at crimestoppers-uk.org.