An RAF veteran is dying in hospital from a stroke he suffered after a burglar smashed his way into his home.

Robert Morris' wife Kathleen fought back tears as she told The Argus: "I've lost my husband through this.

"Please help the police find this burglar and have him locked away so no one else has to go through what I'm suffering.

"Robert and I have been together for 58 years.

"Now I'm broken-hearted."

Mrs Morris has been keeping a vigil by her husband's bedside and during one visit last Friday afternoon their home was burgled again.

This time the thief escaped with jewellery and antiques, many of them heirlooms.

The family has kept the news from Mr Morris but believe the same burglar struck again.

On the first occasion, Mr Morris, 84, and his wife, 82, were watching television on April 9 when they heard a noise at the front door of their home in Marine Drive, Saltdean, Brighton.

The burglar had broken through one door and was trying another when Mrs Morris challenged him and pushed him out.

Their son Alan, 57, has no doubt the shock caused his father's stroke just days later.

He said: "His days have been shortened as a direct result of this scumbag picking on elderly, helpless and vulnerable people.

"You can't print what I think about him but I would like to spend ten minutes alone with him."

His father, who served with the RAF in North Africa and Italy during the Second World War, is in Brighton General Hospital, where staff confirmed his condition was critical.

Alan Morris, an ex-Army warrant officer, is offering a "significant" reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the culprit.

Items stolen in the second raid included a watch he bought his father and a carriage clock.

His father was an audio visual senior officer at Sussex University until he retired and his mother, who helped to build Lancaster bombers during the war, ran a clothing shop in Queen's Road, Brighton.

They have three children, 12 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Police confirmed the two raids may be connected.

The offender who tried to break in on April 9 is about 30, 5ft 3in, stocky with dark, shaved hair.

He wore a blue sweatshirt and light-coloured trousers.

He ran off towards Longridge Avenue and was seen with an accomplice, who was in his 30s, 5ft 10in, with bushy dark hair.

Anyone with information should call 0845 6070999.