Police are appealing for witnesses following a burglary in Hutton which detectives have described as "shocking” but "rare”.

At around 1pm on Thursday, June 11, an elderly woman and a teenage boy were at their home in Hanging Hill Lane when three men burst into the property and demanded gold.

They grabbed a necklace from the woman and took other items of gold jewellery from the house, before making off in a dark coloured BMW type car. The cost of the items taken is still being counted but is believed to be worth thousands of pounds.

The woman suffered slight bruising and the teenager was not injured.

Detectives believe this incident may have been planned as it is an extremely rare thing to happen in the area.

The victims managed to describe the men who were white and aged between 20 and 30. They said they were all smartly dressed in black polo shirts with a white motif, beige chinos and black baseball caps.

They were also wearing sunglasses and gloves and had Irish accents. One had stubble.

Dc Matthew Wigg, of Brentwood CID is investigating the burglary. He said: "This was a horrendous and shocking incident which took place during the day.

"I would urge anyone with any information, or anyone who may have seen these three men in the area to come forward and speak to us.

"If you know who was responsible I would urge you to do the right thing and get in contact.”

He added: "I would like to reassure people that this type of incident is extremely rare and we are doing everything we can to catch those responsible.”

Anybody with any information is asked to contact Dc Wigg at Brentwood on Essex Police 101.

People who wish to remain anonymous can contact independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.