Terrified mother finds chilling selfie on her own phone of a burglar sitting at her dining table who had crept into her house while she was in the shower - and she'd never even noticed

She only discovered man had been in house after finding chilling image

Mother discovered it 20 days after it was taken as she looked at pictures



He was there at the same time as her - perhaps as she showered

She was confused by missing food in her Plymouth home in recent weeks



Susan (not her real name) says she can't relax until home invader is found



A terrified woman discovered a stranger has been repeatedly creeping in to her house when she checked her mobile phone - and found a picture of a man she'd never met, calmly sitting at her dining table.

Chillingly, she realised the man was in her house at the same time she was home and had been there before - perhaps even as she showered.

Susan (her name has been changed to protect her identity), from the Barbican area of Plymouth, Devon, said she would only feel safe in her own home again when the sinister man was found.



Sinister: The picture of a strange man that a Plymouth woman found on her phone, taken in her house while she was home

The woman, who is in her 30s, said: 'In the picture he looks comfortable in my home. I showed the picture to friends and family and they are absolutely horrified.

' I think when the photo was taken I had been in the shower.'

'It took me a week before I could stay in the house again. I'm absolutely terrified.



'Now, every time I hear a noise I flinch. It's the fact that he sat at my dining table, while I was in the house and if it wasn't for him taking that picture I wouldn't have ever known. That's what frightened me the most.



'The creepiest thing was him not taking anything of worth, it's unnerving. I want to know who he is and why he came into my home. I won't feel safe until I know who he is.'

The full image. Susan think he may have taken the image as she showered

The woman was stunned at the image, which shows her lounge from the dining table, complete with her handbag and the man captured in the mirror, and she tried to come up with an explanation.



When she couldn't she made the horrible realisation the intruder was in as she was at home. He is bald, has a beard and appears to wear earrings and a ring on his wedding finger.



She said: 'My bag was there and my phone. I don’t leave the house without them. The more I looked the more I genuinely didn’t know the guy.

'He hadn’t just been in my home, but he did it while I was there.



The initial indicators that Susan’s home was being invaded began in late September after she and her teenage daughter decided to go on a healthy-eating diet.

Packets of crisps and biscuits were off limits to them both but Susan began to notice pack after pack go missing. Her son, who has a stomach condition, was unlikely to be the culprit.



She added: 'My daughter was at home a few hours before I came home from work and when I got back there would be crisps and chocolate missing.



'My daughter and I are dieting together and I'd accuse her of cheating, but she would insist she hadn't.



'Entire packs of biscuits would disappear and multipack crisps would turn into one single packet. I was convinced it was her.



The Barbican area of Plymouth, Devon, where 'Susan' lives

'Then a cousin asked me to put photos of my grandmother together for a collage and I went through my phone.'



The woman, who is in her 30s, phoned police immediately and the following day had every locked in her flat changed - even installing a safety mechanism on her loft hatch.



Since then no food has gone missing.



'All the locks have now been changed, there's bolts on the patio doors and I'm contemplating getting a dog,' she added.



Police believe the photo was taken between October 9 and 11 and wish to speak to the man in relation to the offence of burglary.



Anyone with information about the man should call police on 101 or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 quoting crime reference number EC/13/10533.