A terrified woman was forced to sit with a towel over her head while bungling robbers ransacked her uncle's house.

The raiders - who wrongly believed the house in Cornwallis Avenue, Tonbridge, contained a safe - escaped with antiques worth £5,000.

They even stole a silver box holding a family member's ashes - leaving the ashes behind by pouring them into a bowl.

Now detectives have released efits of the men the believe were responsible for the robbery, at 2.25pm last Monday, June 10.

They struck as the householder, a man in his 70s, waited for a visit from his niece.

"These offenders invaded the privacy of the elderly victim's home and subjected him and his niece to an upsetting ordeal..." - DC Darran Bassett

The man unlocked his gate and front door in preparation for her arrival and was making lunch when two men entered the house.

They found the man in his kitchen and forced him onto the floor while they searched the property.

When his niece arrived, she was made to sit in the kitchen with a towel over her head while the search - which lasted around 45 minutes - continued.

The robbers wrongly believed the house contained a safe containing a large amount of cash.

When they gave up looking, they left with antiques worth around £5,000 instead.

The haul included a silver box containing the ashes of a family member - but the robbers left the ashes behind, pouring them into a bowl.

DC Darran Bassett said: "These offenders invaded the privacy of the elderly victim's home and subjected him and his niece to an upsetting ordeal.

"Fortunately no one was harmed and the victims have been able to give good descriptions of the intruders."

Witnesses or anyone with information is asked to phone DC Bassett at Kent Police on 101, quoting YY/11036/13, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.