A MUM of two has vowed not to let callous thieves ruin her family's Christmas after her children's presents were stolen from her house while she slept upstairs on Thursday.

Gemma Scurfield, of Poplars Avenue, broke down in tears as she recalled the moment she walked downstairs to discover her Christmas shopping had been stolen.

She said: "It has been horrible but I'm not going to let them destroy what we had planned. My kids are going to have a fantastic Christmas - I'm going to make sure of that."

As well as Christmas presents for her children and family members, her purse and a mobile phone were also taken by offenders on Thursday evening.

She added: "The worst part is that I was upstairs and I didn't hear a thing. My children were in the house - anything could have happened.

"Now I am struggling to sleep at night as I keep listening out for noises."

But police have since managed to find about 30 per cent of the stolen gifts and hand them back to the 26-year-old.

She added: "The police have done a great job and have worked really hard on this."

DC Vicky Goodwin from Cheshire Police said: "I am extremely pleased that we have been able to reunite the presents with their rightful owners in time for Christmas.

"The victim in this case was extremely upset after discovering that all of their children′s presents had been stolen, but thanks to the hard work of our team they will hopefully be able to have an enjoyable Christmas."

Wesley Andrew Burton, aged 30, of Cleveland Road, and Jason Raymond Burke, aged 31, of no fixed abode, appeared at Halton Magistrates Court on Monday after being charged with burglary and theft from a vehicle.

The defendants are expected to make their next appearance at Chester Crown Court on December 1.