Expensive watches, mobile phones, jewellery and other belongings worth thousands of pounds were stolen from Oxford United's players in what police described as an "audacious" burglary.

The changing room at the Kassam Stadium

Items were taken from the changing rooms at the Kassam Stadium while the squad took part in a training session on Friday afternoon (August 20).

Property was stolen belonging to 29 first team and other players.

However, police said they were not prepared to name individual footballers and it is not known if manager Graham Rix was among the victims.

TAG Heuer, Rolex and Cartier watches were among the haul, along with wallets, cash and credit cards.

Det Sgt Vince Gilio, of Oxford police's burglary team, said: "This was an incredibly audacious burglary. The offender has chanced his arm and in a short period of time has managed to get his hands on a significant amount of property to a high value."

The incident happened some time between 12.30pm and 12.45pm on Friday, as the players trained prior to Saturday's Coca-Cola League Two match at Leyton Orient.

Det Sgt Gilio said the exact value of items stolen was not known, but that "many thousands of pounds" worth of property had gone missing. "A lot of the items are fairly identifiable and we will be following up all the leads we can," he added. "Anyone who is offered jewellery or watches for a knock-down price is urged to get in touch with us."

No-one at Oxford United was prepared to comment.

However, Trevor Lambert, secretary of OxVox, the Oxford United supporter's trust, said: "I meet club officials from time to time, and my impression is that the security at the club has been good. I'm not aware of any lapses."

"Obviously it could be potentially unsettling for the players the day before a match, but they managed to put in a professional performance, particularly defensively," Mr Lambert added.

Martin Brodetsky, editor of the U's Rage On fanzine, said: "It's a surprise. Having been up there, I thought their dressing rooms were very difficult areas to access. It's sad for the players, but I'm sure they won't allow it to affect their performances on the pitch."

Police want to talk to a man who looked like a workman, seen by a number of witnesses, about the thefts. He carried a tape measure, ruler, pencil and documents.

He is described as white, aged 30-35, 5ft 10in, with a thin, pointy face. He wore a cap, a blue zip-up top and blue bottoms.