£80,000 of jewellery stolen as thieves storm boy's party

It is a temptation few teenagers can resist. An empty house with the parents hundreds of miles away on holiday.

But for one 16-year-old, throwing an illicit party proved a very expensive gamble. Alerted by the noise, a gang ransacked his home and stole £80,000 worth of antique jewellery.

The boy was locked in a room, while other revellers were forced to leave at knife-point as the gatecrashers helped themselves to more than 500 valuable items. The schoolboy had arranged a three-day get-together for six friends at his home in Tuebrook, Liverpool, while his mother and father took a break in France.

On the final evening, a gang of around 10 burst into the house, terrorising the teenagers before ripping two electronically-coded safes from the wall. The haul of rare necklaces, earrings, rings and pendants that were stolen belonged to the boy's mother, a 50-year-old secondary school teacher, who had been collecting for 30 years from all over the globe.

The woman who did not want to be named, said: "I'm extremely glad that my son wasn't hurt, but I feel devastated at what has happened, I just can't comprehend it. These are only material possessions but each piece meant something personal to me. They just can't be replaced.

"I feel like my home has been violated and a part of me has been ripped away by these people."

The boy's older brother telephoned their parents with the bad news, forcing the couple to abandon their holiday in France and return to Liverpool. The devastated couple came home to find the house ransacked with curtains torn down and a lavatory and banister broken.

Police believe that the robbers entered the house looking for trouble after noticing there was a party in the street. They carried out an opportunistic crime when they noticed the safes.

Detectives have warned jewellers to be on the look out for the many unique pieces inset with diamonds, emeralds and rubies.

A spokesman for Merseyside Police said: "This was a terrible experience for the young man and has been a difficult time for the family as a whole. It's every kid's nightmare - the parents go away and put you in charge and something like this happens. As well as the burglary they caused a lot of damage to the house and put a lot of fear into the 16-year-old.

"If anyone who is not from an established jewellery outlet approaches people with jewellery for sale, they should not accept it and contact us immediately."

Merseyside Police said that they were questioning two teenagers in connection with the incident.