A mother who lives alone has described the moment she discovered her home ransacked by a burglar who left blood stains in every room.

Elisa Choveaux's house on St Peter's Street, Lowestoft, was turned upside down by an intruder on December 10 last year. Jewellery and several electrical items, including a 40 inch TV and a Sky box, were stolen.

Mark Taylor, of no fixed address, was last week sentenced to more than three years in prison after pleading guilty to the burglary.

Having lived at the property for 10 years without incident, Miss Choveaux says she was overwhelmed by a state of shock when she returned home and realised what had happened.

'My son had invited me round for dinner after work, so I thought I'd pop home first to put some lights on and feed my two cats.

'The back gate was open, but I just thought it was the wind so I wasn't concerned. Then I saw that the blind was halfway up the back window, before realising I had no window left at all.

'What exactly happened next I can't remember because I was in such a panic. There were lights on but I couldn't remember if I'd left them like that.

'The TV, Sky box and router were gone, there were DVDs and paperwork scattered all over the place, some of my jewellery was gone - the place was ransacked.'

Police forensics teams conducted a thorough sweep of the premises and, despite failing to find a single fingerprint, police identified Taylor as the intruder within three days using traces of his blood - left around the house after cutting himself on the smashed window.

Once located, the 47-year-old was arrested just a week after committing the offence.

With the support of friends and family Miss Choveaux soon returned to work, but she admits it has been a challenge to move on from the experience.

'The worst thing is the paranoia,' she added. 'Initially I was really paranoid - everything was reminding me of it. I would be at work and constantly wondering whether my house was alright.

'The thing with burglary is that it's a complete invasion of privacy. What gives someone the right to come into my home? Everything here I own and I have worked hard for it.

'It's difficult to pretend it didn't happen but I'm doing my best to put it behind me.'