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Gas turned on and candle lit in bizarre burglary mystery

The owner came home to find a candle had been lit in the bathroom Credit: ITV Meridian

Police are appealing for help in solving a mystery burglary, where nothing was stolen but a candle was left lit in an upstairs room and a gas ring turned on in the kitchen.

The owner of the house on Fairlight Road in Eastbourne, Sussex, returned from a day out to find the rear door unlocked and an upstairs window, which had been left open for ventilation, was closed. They then found a candle lit in the bathroom. Somebody had searched through the drawers in a bedroom, but hadn't taken anything.

Downstairs, a gas ring in the kitchen had been partially turned on.

The fact that someone has broken into their house is disturbing enough for the home owners, but the lit candle and unlit gas ring are both odd and very worrying... over time they could have built up enough to have caused an explosion and potentially threatened the lives of the occupants

– Detective Constable Sheila Bonell, Sussex Police