Three young Welcome Bay children are too petrified to sleep in their bedrooms after a burglar broke into their family's home.
Michael Somerville, his wife Joanie and five children were sleeping in the early hours of Tuesday when an intruder broke into their Awanui Place home.
The thief took a Playstation 3, games, Mr Somerville's wallet, cellphone and a bottle of milk from the fridge.
Mr Somerville said the intrusion had been deeply felt, particularly among his 4-, 6- and 8-year-old children who no longer felt safe in their home.
"They are really quite scared. They keep thinking he's going to come back. They call him 'the bad man'," he said.
"They are too scared to sleep in their rooms and even [too scared to] go to the toilet during the day."
Mr Somerville said his young children thought he was "Superman" and they assumed he would soon find the thief and 'beat him up'.
"It's sad to not be able to really answer that for them," he said.
It was not only Mr Somerville's children who had suffered. His wife Joanie had been alone with the children for four nights before the burglary while Mr Somerville was in Auckland.
The couple had since worried what could have happened if the burglary was a night earlier, and if Mrs Somerville had woken and disturbed the thief.
"She has broken down and cried a few times now. She feels very violated about it," Mr Somerville said.
"I feel like I kind of failed to protect the family. To them, I'm the guard of the family; 'nothing goes past Dad'. I feel really stupid that someone has come in under my nose and done this."
Mr Somerville said his young children struggled to comprehend why their much-loved Playstation did not reappear when they woke in the mornings.
"They kind of understand what happened but they don't understand that someone's taken it and taken it for good."
Mr Somerville had a message for his burglars, who he believed did not understand what kind of impact their actions had left.
"The impact they have had is huge. It's not just that they took stuff and it's gone.
"They have left some kids really scared."
The Somervilles were insured but had an excess of $650. Mr Somerville estimated the cost of the items stolen was $800.
Tauranga South Senior Sergeant Lew Warner said the burglary was one of several of its kind in the area in recent weeks.
"Obviously it's devastating for people that live at those address. Your home is your castle and you have had an intruder in your house. It's bad enough when you're away from your house but when you're asleep inside ..."
Mr Warner said the potential for something to go wrong in this type of burglary was high.
"People have been seriously injured, if not murdered. Police have huge concerns in regard to these burglaries."
Mr Warner said there had been several similar burglaries in the Welcome Bay, Parkvale and Greerton area in recent weeks.
He asked anyone who saw suspicious activity to call 111 straight away.