A HAMPSHIRE couple lost their home and everything they owned when thieves snatched their £17,000 caravan.

John Yandall and his wife Beryl have been left devastated by the theft - the third caravan taken from the same area in the past week.

Mr Yandall, 56, is the live-in warden at Long Beech campsite near Fritham in the New Forest.

He and his wife were enjoying a trip to Wimborne, Dorset, when the manager of a neighbouring campsite rang them up and told them their caravan had been stolen.

The couple returned to Long Beech to discover an empty space where their home had once been.

Now the pair are having to live and sleep in the back of their van until they can find alternative accommodation.

Mr Yandall said: "It was more than a caravan - it was our home.

"It's like someone else going home and discovering that thieves have stolen their house.

"I was devastated and my wife was in pieces. Beryl was left rings and jewellery when her mother died in January but that's all gone.

"We've got nothing now other than the clothes we're standing up in.

"The thieves don't realise how much grief they inflict when they do this sort of thing - and even if they do they don't care."

Mr Yandall said the German-built caravan was taken at noon on Sunday, despite being secured with wheel clamps and chains.

The off-white Burstner vehicle is 28ft long with blue and grey flashing on the side. The design also includes a blue and grey motif depicting a road going off into the distance.

A Forestry Commission spokesman said two twin-axle caravans belonging to campers were stolen from Long Beech and nearby Ocknell campsite last Wednesday.

Ring police on 0845 045 4545.