CUMBRIAN cricketer Ben Stokes has issued a plea to help catch a group of masked burglars after they broke into his home while he was on tour with England and stole 'sentimental' items.

Stokes, who is originally from Cockermouth, said several masked people burgled his home in the Castle Eden area in the North East on the evening of Thursday, October 17.  

Stokes moved to the North-East from Cumbria when he joined Durham as a teenager and has lived in the region ever since.

This month’s burglary occurred while he was captaining the England Test team in a series in Pakistan - with his wife and two young children being in the home at the time of the burglary.

The 33-year-old has decided to make the incident public in the hope of catching those responsible.

In his statement on social media site X, the England captain said: "They escaped with jewellery, other valuables and a good deal of personal items. Many of those items have real sentimental value for me and my family.  They are irreplaceable.

"This is an appeal for any help in finding these people who carried out this act.   By far the worst thing about this crime is that it was carried out whilst my wife and two young children were in the house. Thankfully, none of my family came to any physical harm.

"Understandably, however, the experience has had an impact on their emotional and mental state. All we can think about is how much worse this situation could have been.

"I am releasing photographs of some of the stolen items - which I hope may be easily identified - in the hope that we can find the people who are responsible for this.  

 

"Although we have lost cherished possessions, to be clear, my sole motivation in sharing these photographs is not the recovery of material items. It is to catch the people who did this.   Please come forward and contact Durham Constabulary on 101 quoting crime reference CRI00575927 if you think that you have any relevant information.

"Finally, I want to say thank you to the police service. Both now and whilst I was away in Pakistan, their support for my family has been outstanding.  They continue to work incredibly hard in trying to find these people."