THIEVES have made off with an orphan’s Christmas and birthday presents.

Sabrena Afridi, who turned six yesterday, was hoping to celebrate with friends and her adoptive family after a tough year spent battling an incurable and life-threatening blood disease.

But her celebration was cancelled after burglars stole her presents as well as thousands of pounds worth of jewellery from her family’s home in Ferry Road, New Marston.

Last night, her mother Sobia said the girl had been so shaken by the burglary that she refused to use the toilet on her own or sleep in her own bed.

Mrs Afridi said: “Sabrena was with me when we discovered the house had been burgled.

“She kept saying to me ‘Is there somebody in the house? We have to leave’.

“She is convinced someone is going to come back and get her. She is very upset.

“She keeps saying to me ‘you said that everyone in the world is good, but they’re not’.

“It’s hard but I try to explain to her that it’s not nice, but maybe they were desperate.

“Sabrena is a very brave girl who has coped with her illness, but this is something she doesn’t know how to deal with.”

Her presents were worth a combined £60, and Mrs Afridi said: “Some of the jewellery belonged to my mother, who passed away 15 years ago, and is of great sentimental value.

“And when you have already stolen thousands of pounds worth of jewellery, why bother taking a child’s gifts?

“It is very upsetting.”

Mr and Mrs Afridi, who rescued Sabrena from a Pakistani orphanage in 2003, said earlier this year it had looked as though the family’s fortunes had started to turn around.

Sabrena suffers from thalassaemia – a condition which prevents the body producing enough haemoglobin and can lead to life-threatening anaemia.

In February, the family won a long battle against Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust for a key drug which would put an end to the painful treatment for Sabrena’s condition.

Police are appealing for witnesses to the burglary, which is believed to have occurred some time between 8am and 4.15pm on Monday, December 14.

Anyone with information should call Sgt Greg Auger on 08458 505505, or the Crimestoppers line anonymously on 0800 555111.