A Dunedin woman says she is recovering after being punched in the face by a man as he fled her Calton Hill home with her children's Christmas presents and other stolen items.
Judith Lewis was returning to her Nottingham Cres home with her brother, William Lewis, about 9.30pm on Sunday and found the lights on.
She had left the empty house locked, so Mr Lewis said he entered alone to investigate, and saw a man ''rifling'' through a DVD unit.
''He spotted me and jumped up, then another guy appeared and they both started kicking the crap out of me,'' Mr Lewis said.
His sister came to the front door and was punched in the face by one of the men, he said.
''She was knocked out and fell into a pile of wood. The guys then grabbed the stuff they had collected from the house and took off down the road.''
Mr Lewis said he and his sister both had black eyes and bruises from the attack.
Among items stolen from the house were children's toys Ms Lewis had bought to give to her daughters at Christmas.
Mr Lewis said they hoped the burglars would be apprehended.
''I just want those mongrels to be caught,'' he said.
Sergeant Paul McLaughlan, of Dunedin, said one of the men was described as wearing a white hoodie and the other a red hoodie.
One of them had ginger hair, Sgt McLaughlan said.
Police used dogs to track the men when called to the house at 9.50pm, but the offenders were not located.
An investigation into the incident was continuing, Sgt McLaughlan said.
Mr Lewis put details of the incident on a social networking website yesterday and said the response from the Dunedin public had been amazing.
He thanked all those who had provided information in an effort to help solve the crime.
