'Somebody popped their head into my bedroom door': Family 'shaken' after intruder lurks at teen's door during break-in

An Edinburgh mum and her family have been left ‘shaken’ after a ‘dirty’ intruder broke into their house in Clermiston and came face-to-face with their teenage daughter.

Sharron and her husband Neil Fraser enjoying a holiday before lockdown (Photo: Sharron Fraser)

Sharron Fraser, 46, and her family had been getting ready for bed at their home in Clermiston Gardens on Wednesday, March 31, at around 8.30pm when the incident took place.

The-mum-of two’s 14-year-old daughter had alerted her dad, Neil Fraser, after a man who she thought may have been her Grandad opened her door.

Explaining how the events unfolded, Ms Fraser said: “I was upstairs doing work on my computer and my husband was watching the telly upstairs because my daughters were cleaning the dishes from dinner downstairs and they then went to their rooms.

"The next thing was, the dog started to bark at around half eight-ish and my husband went to let her out as we thought she was barking at the fox so he went down not thinking anything but he noticed the side gate was opened. We never thought much of it.

"My husband then came in and switched the lights off and said goodnight to our daughter who stays in the bedroom downstairs and then she followed him and asked him: ‘Dad, were you in my room earlier? Was it Grandad? As somebody popped their head into my bedroom door.’”

After being confused at what their daughter said, Ms Fraser and her husband put on the lights and checked the doors of their property.

They were “shocked” to find a “blood smear” on their settee and Ms Fraser’s car keys missing.

The police and forensics have since been to the Clermiston property with the forensics team confirming that substance found on the couch was “100% blood.”

"It was just like ‘Phone the police and what do we do?’”, the mum-of-two said, “We had an intruder come into our house through the side gate.”

Her teenage daughter who looked the thief “straight in the eye”, described him as being “older man” in his sixties and having “browny blonde” hair with a “scruffy” beard and was “dirty-looking”.

Her daughter went to her sister’s bedroom upstairs after the incident and slept there.

Fortunately, after posting an appeal to find her car keys, a man who found them on Clermiston Medway was able to return them to Ms Fraser.

However, the family have been left “shaken” after the ordeal.

"It’s been quite surreal and we are quite shaken up.

“You’re at home and you think your family is safe and then all of a sudden you find that somebody has come in- it’s quite frightening.” said Ms Fraser.

Ms Fraser has urged locals to lock their doors and make sure everything is secure.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "We were made aware of a sneak-in theft from a property at Clermiston Gardens in Edinburgh around 9.20pm on Wednesday, 31 March.

"Enquiries into the incident are ongoing."

The incident comes after a post on a local page of an incident in Blackhall, involving a man who fitted a similar description to the one described by the teen, according to Ms Fraser.

An older man in shorts and a puffer jacket, who appeared drunk, had allegedly stolen a wallet from someone's house before assaulting a "couple of guys" who had tried to stop him.

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