Heartless thieves burgled a widow's house while she was at her husband's funeral.

Paula Palmer returned from burying her husband to find their bedroom ransacked and car stolen.

The 49-year-old believes the thieves could have watched the funeral procession leaving the house before breaking in.

She said: “The devastation and invasion into my life is huge. A large amount of jewellery has been taken and with every piece there are sentiments and memories.

“This burglary has drawn out a lot more pain and agony on what was already a very sad day.”

Among the items taken was a pair of sapphire earrings her husband of eight years Dennis Palmer gave her on their wedding day.

Mr Palmer, 68, worked for Brighton and Hove Bus Company most recently as a cashier and previously as a bus driver. He died of cancer about nine months after being diagnosed.

The couple’s house in Barnett Road, Brighton, was broken into at some point between 5.30pm and 9.30pm on Friday.

Mrs Palmer added: “Just the audacity of it. You can replace things but you cannot replace the sentiment.

“Numb is the only way I can describe how I feel. I am not firing on all cylinders anyway and I think the adrenaline has kicked in."

She said: “I came home and realised something was wrong because there was a chair in the hallway, a dining room chair, and I knew that I had not left anything there.

“Then I realised that the back door was shut but it was unlocked and I knew I had locked it.

“I went upstairs and that’s when I saw the devastation in my bedroom. My jewellery box was open and the whole lot had gone.

“My husband’s jewellery box was open as well – all that was gone, a drawer was tipped out, it was just a complete mess, and then I realised they had taken the car as well."

Police believe their car, a silver Kia Ceed registration BJ09 YBK, which was parked at the front of the house, is still in Brighton after being stolen. Officers are appealing for witnesses or anyone with information to come forward.

Email 101@sussex.pnn.police.uk or phone 101, quoting serial 1572 of April 17, or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.