POLICE are investigating a Brynmawr couple's claim that they came home from a night out to find their house was left open after officers broke down their door.

Malcolm and Hazel Pinkney have made an official complaint to police about the incident, and Mr Pinkney says his first thought was that the house in Somerset Street had been burgled.

"I was worried the thieves might still be inside," said Mr Pinkney, 49, who made the official complaint to the Police Standards Committee yesterday. A neighbour on Somerset Street told them police had damaged the door, breaking the frame in their attempts to get inside.

"They just left it open," claimed Mr Pinkney. "Anyone could have got in and stolen our things."

Police were responding to reports of an assault on February 25, but a spokesman said a caller had mistakenly gave them the wrong address. The Pinkneys thought their one-year-old Yorkshire terrier Teddy had run away, but after searching found him cowering in a corner.

Mr Pinkney said: "I am amazed they didn't leave someone behind to make the house secure. What if we had been on holiday, or an OAP had been living here alone?

"It could have been very frightening for them." The nearby police station was closed so Mr Pinkney flagged down a police car for help.

He is now waiting for the council to replace the door. "It has caused us a lot of stress - we have had a terrible week," he said. "The hall had just been redecorated and our grandfather clock was damaged when the door knocked into it."

A Gwent Police spokeswoman said although the caller in the incident was "well-meaning" they gave police the wrong address, leading to the mix-up. Although not a 999 call, she said the content of it meant it was treated as an emergency.

She said: "Officers acted immediately to minimise the risk to the people concerned - which was a priority in this case."

The spokeswoman would not comment on Mr Pinkney's claims that the house had been left unsecured.

She said: "This is the subject of a formal complaint which is currently being investigated, therefore it would be inappropriate to comment any further."