From the far side of my bedroom, I saw a black form bound across the patio to the flower bed in front of the window. A black Labrador was set to dig up my plants!

On closer inspection, however, I saw that the dog had followed two strangers. Who were these men, and what were they doing scrubbing about in the soil?

I rushed into the kitchen to grab my iphone to photograph the pair of them as evidence of trespass. Here was another surprise: the kitchen table had been stripped off all its tech – principally laptops and phones – and my handbag was missing. In their place were scattered Catan pieces.

It seemed that the burglars had already done over the house, and had moved on to hunting for buried treasure outside.