A 92-YEAR-OLD war veteran has had the stamps he has been collecting since he was four years old stolen.

Leslie Brown, of Eaglescliffe, Stockton, came back from holiday to the USA with his daughter on Monday (November 24), only to find his house on Poplar Road had been burgled.

The thieves had smashed through the door and messed up the entire house and stolen four bottles of whiskey and four bottles of wine after pulling the alarm off the wall and putting it in water.

But it was the loss of four books of stamps, which included a penny black and a two penny blues, which really upset Mr Brown who had planned to pass them on to his five-year-old great grandson.

Penny blacks are the most famous stamps but two penny blues, printed in far fewer numbers from just two days later in 1840, can be much more valuable. One has sold for a million pounds but Mr Brown explained he bought his for just £200 five or six years ago and said it was not from the original print or of the highest quality.

Mr Brown, a bomber pilot in the Second World War and a retired sales manager, said it was the fact that he had built up his collection over 88 years that upset him.

"I'm just very annoyed," he said.

His daughter, Christine Walker, said: "Dad's okay, he just said, 'we've got to get on with it,' but I think he's trying to put on a brave face for me. They smashed down the patio door and they messed up the whole house."

Cleveland Police said the burglary took place sometime between Sunday, November 9 and last Monday. Contact PC Darren Beer on the non-emergency number 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800-555-111.