Intruder allegedly burgles Auckland unit while mother and 4-year-old daughter are home

An intruder allegedly broke in and burgled an Auckland unit while a woman and her 4-year-old daughter were home. Photo / File

An intruder allegedly burgled an Auckland family's unit, stopping to shine a light on the mother who had just got her 4-year-old daughter to sleep.

The mother, who gave her name only as Dee, was in the bedroom of her Mt Albert unit when she heard noises coming from her bathroom about 9.15pm on Friday. At first, she thought her husband had come home early from work, but when she called out for him and he didn't respond, she armed herself with a broomstick.

Her daughter had just gone to sleep in her bed, which is in the couple's bedroom.

"I heard movement in the house," Dee told the Herald.

"I kept calling out for my husband but there was no response so I banged the broomstick against the door and walls and said over and over 'who is that? who is that'?"

Dee believed the intruder was a man whohad got into the house by breaking a bolt on their toilet window with a crowbar.

"He was creeping through the house. It was really dark because I'd turned the lights off before going to bed.

"He stopped at the bedroom door and flashed his phone light on us. It was so creepy.

"He took so much time flashing the light."

The alleged intruder then ran, taking the couple's Samsung tablet from the kitchen bench, before leaving through the kitchen door, Dee said.

Dee's upstairs neighbour had thousands of dollars items stolen from their home in October last year. She was also aware of a house across her street being burgled.

A police spokeswoman confirmed the alleged burglary was being investigated.