Asian families are being targeted by criminal gangs for their jewellery with £20,000 stolen in one raid and a pregnant woman disturbed while sleeping in another.

The large haul of valuable jewellery was stolen from a property in High Garrett.

Thieves smashed a glass window at the back of a property in the parish between midnight on Wednesday, October 25 and 11.35am on Sunday, October 29 before ransacking the entire house.

The value of the items was around £20,000 and £300 of cash was also taken during the raid.

Then on Saturday night a Bangladeshi family in Railway Street, Braintree, were targeted and now the father is joining police in urging the community to be more aware of the crime spree.

The man said: “They broke in the main entrance of the building and used a crowbar to get into the door to my flat.

“I had a call from my wife, who is several weeks pregnant, at about 7.50pm and she was crying saying there were people in the flat.

"Then she screamed and the people ran off. They did not know she was in there at the time.”

The burglars were disturbed while rummaging through personal possessions of the family – a common theme during a number of raids.

Asian traditions place a strong emphasis on jewellery and investing in gold is a time-honoured practice in many cultures.

The man continued: “It has been really traumatic for my wife. She has been staying with relatives since.

“When people come into your home like that it is awful.

“I think there is a real problem in the area with people targeting Asian households for jewellery.

“I know a few families who have been targeted recently. I think Asian families need to be warned about this kind of thing.”

Det Insp Jim White, from Essex Police, has issued a warning about the problem.

He said: “These are not just valuable possessions; they are also of great sentimental worth and are a huge loss to their owners if such jewellery is taken.”

Police are investigating both of these incidents.

Witnesses or anyone with information relating to either incident should contact police at Braintree station on 101.