VIDEO: Masked burglars steal safe from home in Abbots Langley

On Thursday March 21, two men pulled up to a house in Hazelwood Lane, Abbots Langley, at around 2.45pm.

Inside the house was Lauraine Gollins. She was sat in her living room when she suddenly heard a loud smash. She thought someone had hit her car and as she went into her hallway, she came face to face with the two men.

She said: "I just screamed 'get out' and lunged for the driver. They both had hammers. One of them grabbed me and pushed me into the kitchen and held the door. I called the police."

Meanwhile, the passenger had gone into the living room and straight for the safe.

"I thought I had all the time in the world because it's bolted in but they managed to take it. He started running out while the driver kept his hand on the kitchen door which stopped me from getting out."

He let go and Ms Gollins, barefoot, ran through the smashed glass and into her driveway where she desperately tried to stop them getting away.

The burglars got away with an engagement ring, cash, several van keys, earrings, and a Rolex watch. Ms Gollins, 48, says they knew exactly what they were looking for.

CCTV footage shows Ms Gollins desperately clinging onto the van door before the pair get away. A driver tried to stop the van as it made off but they diverted up a grass verge before fleeing the area.

Initial CCTV shows the black van, on false plates, stop on the driveway, before the driver, dressed in black, emerges and tries to pull open the back door of the van.

Do you recognise this man?

It’s locked so he rushes round to the front before returning to the back and opening the door. His accomplice, dressed in grey joggers and a navy hoodie strolls out of the van before the pair of them calmly walk up the driveway.

The passenger can be seen holding something in his right hand.

The doors of the Citroen Berlingo van remain open while the suspects head to the front door.

The pair begin smashing a door panel before reaching in and unlocking the front door.

After around 30 seconds, footage captures the passenger coming out holding a safe and placing it in the back of the van while the other man runs as quickly as he can into the driver’s seat.

Ms Gollins also runs out and tries to stop them getting away but the passenger is able to clamber into his seat and the van speeds off.

The pair come out of the house holding a safe

Ms Gollins, who lives with her son, daughter, and her daughter's husband, has shared the footage on Facebook, and the video has been shared nearly 3,000 times. She says both men were masked, believed to both be white, and spoke with local accents.

She says she has suffered sleepless nights and gets flashbacks at night. She added that she could not believe how "brazen" they were carrying out in the afternoon.

She added: "I'm just fortunate they did not use the hammer."

A day after the burglary, Hertfordshire Constabulary ran an appeal for witnesses and said the van had fled in the direction of Hunton Bridge.

Now the force has released some CCTV images in the hope someone may know who they are.

Detective Constable Rob King, from the Three Rivers Local Crime Unit, said: “We are following a number of lines of enquiry however we have chosen to release the images of the suspects leaving the scene because we believe someone out there will know who they are.

“This incident left the victim understandably shaken and we are doing all we can to trace those responsible.

“If you recognise these men, or have any further information that could assist us in our investigation, please make contact with us as soon as possible.”

Any witnesses or anyone with information should contact DC King on robert.king@herts.pnn.police.uk, quoting reference 41/26377/19.

You can also call 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800555111.