BURGLARS left a pensioner sickened when they stole his prized collection of valuable coins.

Leslie Benson, from Holgate, said the steel box containing his 20-year collection had disappeared from the study in his home some time between Tuesday and Wednesday last week.

Only a few days earlier Mr Benson, who is 77, had come home from a fortnight's spell in hospital after being diagnosed with diabetes.

He said he thought the intruders had sneaked into his house while he had nipped out to pick up a prescription, while his wife, Barbara, was still at home.

"It's sickening," he said.

"I've been diagnosed as having diabetes, and having this on top of that has made me sick," he said.

"My blood count went up a bit at the thought of what might be happening to my coins. I still go and look for them - I've searched everywhere."

He said the collection of about 70 coins was worth about £400 and included a fairly rare Victorian Jubilee set, dating from 1887-1892.

It included a threepenny bit, a sixpence, a shilling, a two shilling (florin), a half crown, and four and five shilling pieces.

Also in the collection were modern commemorative coins from the current Queen's reign, including two issued this year for the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar.

Two coins from the reign of Edward VIII, who abdicated after only 11 months to marry Wallis Simpson, have also been lost - along with about a dozen from the last years of the reign of Queen Victoria.

Leslie said he still had some coins left in his collection, which he now felt forced to store in a bank.

The dozens of coins he has amassed over the years have come from coin fairs, dealers and from Shambles, York.

"I've been interested in coins for donkeys' years," he said.

"I always had a few old coins in the old days before decimalisation.

"If I could get them back that would be good - I'd forget about it.

"I shan't try to replace them. I had too much fun collecting them. I wouldn't try to do it again. Normally on a Saturday morning, I used to go into my office and gloat over them."

Updated: 09:57 Monday, August 29, 2005