A woman who has lived alone after tragically losing her husband three years ago has told of her terror after masked burglars broke into her home in broad daylight.

Susan Owen, 55, says she is a “bag of nerves” following the frightening ordeal at her home in Roberts Ride, Hazlemere, on Friday, April 29.

Ms Owen, who works part time cleaning church halls in Holmer Green and Penn, was reading a book in her living room at around 2pm when she heard someone ringing her doorbell, but decided to ignore it thinking it was a “high pressure” salesman.

She said: “They just kept ringing and ringing and it went on for about two or three minutes. Then I heard a bang, like the front door being forced open and there was a man standing in my hallway. I was absolutely terrified.”

The man, who Ms Owen says was “heavily disguised” with a scarf over his face, then ordered her to go back to the living room.

She said: “He said ‘get back in that room’, I was terrified. There was another man outside the door, his face was covered.

“I did go back in the room. I thought ‘what am I going to do?’ I was really frightened. You don’t expect something like this to happen to you.”

Ms Owen thinks it was a case of mistaken identity after hearing one of the men say “we have got the wrong house” before they fled the scene empty-handed, leaving coats strewn across the hallway, but said being along in the house made her vulnerable.

She said: “My husband passed away in 2013, so I am on my own here. People are more vulnerable when they are alone and I think burglars know this.

“I am very nervous since it happened, I am a bag of nerves. If people phone me but do not leave a message, it frightens me.

“I am quite nervous about leaving the house at the moment, until I can get a burglar alarm installed, but I have had new locks put on as I think they picked the lock to get into the house.”

Ms Owen praised the police for their quick response after she called 999, but Thames Valley Police are still searching for the culprits.

The first is described as white, in his early twenties, 5ft 8ins, of a slim build and was wearing jeans, a jumper, a scarf covering his face, a plain blue baseball cap and gloves.

There is no description available for the second offender.

Anyone with information can call 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.