MASKED burglars broke into Ben Stokes’ home while his wife and kids were inside and stole “irreplaceable” belongings.

The horror home invasion unfolded on Thursday October 17, as “a number of masked people” forced their way into the North East England home.

The thieves raided Stokes‘ property, located in the Castle Eden area, while his wife – Clare Ratcliffe – and their two children Layton and Libby, were inside.

Sentimental jewellery pieces and “cherished possessions” were taken in the heist including his OBE.

Thankfully no one in the family was injured but the trauma has had “an impact on their emotional and mental state”.

In an appeal on social media, the famous cricketer wrote: “They escaped with jewellery, other valuables and a good deal of personal items.

“Many of those items have real sentimental value for me and my family.

“They are irreplaceable.

“This is an appeal for any help in finding these people who carried out this act.

“By far the worst thing about this crime is that it was carried out whilst my wife and two young children were in the house.

“Thankfully, none of my family came to any physical harm. Understandably, however, the experience has had an impact on their emotional and mental state.

“All we can think about is how much worse this situation could have been.

“I am releasing photographs of some of the stolen items – which I hope may be easily identified – in the hope that we can find the people who are responsible for this.

“Although we have lost cherished possessions, to be clear, my sole motivation in sharing these photographs is not the recovery of material items. It is to catch the people who did this.

“Please come forward and contact Durham Constabulary on 101 quoting crime reference CRI00575927 if you think that you have any relevant information.

“Finally, I want to say thank you to the police service. Both now and whilst I was away in Pakistan, their support for my family has been outstanding.

“They continue to work incredibly hard in trying to find these people.”