OPPORTUNISTIC thieves broke into a home of an elderly woman which had recently been devastated by a fire.

Angelika Charalambous, who is in her eighties, was forced to move out of her home in Southchurch Boulevard temporarily last week after a fire in her garage destroyed the house and made it unsafe.

While she was staying at her daughter’s house, who only lived two doors down, thieves broke into her home and raided the already devastated property.

Irene Pratsides, who lives in London but came to Southend to help after the fire, said: “It is just appalling. Whoever has done this is the lowest form of humanity.

“My sister’s daughter and her boyfriend went to have a look at the damage because they hadn’t seen it yet. They noticed the door was open so went inside and realised the place had been totally ransacked.

“They had taken my mother’s TV and opened every door and drawer possible, emptying the contents on the floor, presumably looking for money.”

Police and forensics attended but, having found little evidence, the family is not hopeful the thieves will be brought to justice.

Ms Pratsides added: “It’s just opportunistic. There are people who see victims of disasters and go looting, with little regard for anyone else.

“My mother is a resilient woman and is so grateful to be alive so is just taking this in her stride really.”

Mrs Charalambous was rescued from the fire by her daughter Mary after a passer-by raised the alarm by banging on her door before alerting neighbours.

Ms Pratsides said: “She wants to thank everyone because she has received cards and good wishes since the fire. We especially want to thank the passer-by who raised the alarm. We think his name was Andy but if he could get in touch with us so we can thank him personally, that would be fantastic.”