A woman has been left heart-broken after thieves stole 22 birds from her back garden.

Julia Minors, 50, spent thousands of pounds on perfecting her garden and bird aviary.

The carer from Gravesend, who has bred quails and budgies for 17 years, splashed out £2,500 on the perfect sanctuary for them.

But on Tuesday night, her garden was broken into and her birds were stolen, leaving her devastated.

This comes after two failed attempts by hooded men who previously broke into Julia’s garden to try and take the birds.

Last month, Julia was putting her recyling out when she spotted men running around in the aviary. They were trying to catch the birds with one nest box- something Julia said could cause the birds to suffer a heart attack and die from the shock.

"I feel absolutely violated, heartbroken. I went to work today and didn’t think I would make it through the day, but I didn’t want to go home"- Julia Minors

Julia was left terrified at the thought of having intruders on her property and spent a great deal of money installing a new alarm and security system to protect the aviary.

Despite increasing surveillance, theives cut through the wire of the aviary and made away with 22 of her birds.

She said: “It is obvious that these men aren’t professionals, if they were they wouldn’t be using one nest box to catch more than 20 birds. It’s just cruel.

“They could have burned the house down and I’d be less upset, I’ll never be able to have this hobby again.”

While providing a home for her 23 budgeries and two quails the aviary was also a gift to herself for her recent 50th birthday.

Julia said she had got used to the sound of the birds in the morning, but now all she hears is silence and sadness.

A police spokesman said: “It was reported that entry had been gained to an aviary in the garden and that a number of budgies had been stolen.”

Anyone with information about the theft is asked to call police on 101 quoting reference XY/30096/16.