This is the chilling moment a masked burglar, dressed in white, stares straight into a security camera as he silently burgles a Chorlton home in minutes.
Homeowner Nikki Pope was busy swimming a gruelling 10 miles of Lake Windermere for charity Mencap while the heartless thief raided her home.
Instead of being able to celebrate the achievement, she was gutted to find out her laptop, handbag and recording equipment had be snatched.
Nikki said the burglar seemed extremely experienced - he silently removed an entire double glazing window out of the wall of her Zetland Road home to enter.
He then crept around quietly with a torch in his mouth, as three house-sitters and her dogs slept, undisturbed by the intruder.
The break-in happened at around 3am on Sunday.
The 51-year-old, who lives with partner Cate Bauer and son Ben Pope, 11 said: "I was gutted. The first time I saw the video footage I had my heart in my mouth.
"He stares into the camera. It is galling. It's just chilling. He's so brazen. He knows exactly what he wants. I hope no one else suffers what I am suffering.
"I should have been celebrating the swim - instead it was a Bank Holiday from hell."
Nikki, a property investor and author, completed the Windermere challenge in training for a swim of the English Channel.
She plans to swim the solo feat, which is around 21 miles, in July.
Nikki is raising money for Mencap , a learning disability charity, which supports her 13-year-old nephew Zach Pope.
Zach has autism and carers from the charity help the family out for a couple of hours every week.
GMP has been contacted for comment.
