The homecoming of a trio of Norton flood victims proved far from happy after they discovered they had fallen prey to a burglar.

Daniel and Simon Stannard, and Nicholas Umleby were due to move back into their home in Church Street, Norton, on Saturday.

But the planned happy return was soured when they discovered that an intruder had broken into the property between 6.30pm on Thursday and 8am on Friday.

The burglar stole a Technics hi-fi and speakers valued at £600 and a Hitachi video recorder, valued at £500, before escaping through a window at the back of the house.

Insp Neil Burnett, of Malton police station, described the Church Street burglary as 'disconcerting', but said the flooding in Malton and Norton had generally brought out the best in people.

He said: "There have been rumours circulating around the towns that there has been a spate of looting in connection with the floods, but there hasn't been."

Insp Burnett said the only other flood-related incident had been the arrest of two people from the Humberside Police area who were found in the Polar Garage in Church Street, Norton, at the height of the flooding. "They were arrested and are currently on police bail."

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