RARE stamps were stolen along with electrical items and other property in a house burglary in Cookley.

The burglary took place in Woodlands Road at about 9.50pm on Wednesday, February 12 but the theft of the stamps has only recently been discovered.

The stamps were in a green tin and included about a dozen perforated misprints of a stamp from the Protection of the Environment children's paintings collection bearing the slogan Acid Rain Kills.

The green and yellow 24p stamps are rare and a collector’s item because the Queen’s head is missing from the design. Accompanying them was a newspaper article about their rarity.

There were also about 10 to 12 presentation cards with stamps commemorating various special occasions taken.

The thieves also stole several televisions, a 46-inch model, a combi TV and DVD, and a 40-inch Sonia Brava TV which was worth £400.

The haul also included a BT Home Hub 2.0 wireless, an iPod Touch worth £150, a Gear4 StreetParty 3-speaker docking station, an Acer Veriton computer, two mobile phones, various computer games, a silver curb chain necklace, and a Ben Sherman watch with silver bracelet.

Detective Sergeant Duncan Lloyd, of Kidderminster Police Station, said: “The stamps in particular are distinctive as they are so rare. Therefore we would ask anyone who may have been offered them or seen them for sale anywhere to contact us without delay.

“Similarly if you think any of the other items stolen have been offered to you or you know who is selling it then we would like to know about that.”

Anyone with information should call 101, quoting the incident reference 1187-S-120214, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.