People who work from home have been reminded to create a back-up of their work stored on their computer.

A recent burglary case saw one homeworker lose more than just her computer, when hundreds of hours of work were taken.

The 38-year-old writer had her computer, camera, purse and car keys stolen when thieves took her bag. Inside the bag was the book the victim had spent the last year working on.

She told the Chronicle: “All [the thieves] will have thought about was the money. They didn't realise or care about the repercussions.

“They just picked up my bag but didn't think that that was the whole of my life in there. My phone, my purse, my camera and my laptop.”

She explained that the problem was “not about the money” but rather the “hours and hours of work that I've wasted”, noting that she cannot face starting again at the moment.

The book that was contained on the laptop was Voices of Stanley, which told the stories of people who lived in the County Durham town from the 1890s to the 1960s.

People who work from home need to be aware that they do not have the support of professional IT systems and need to take precautions for themselves.