Van Der Burgh's home burgled

Cape Town -  South African swimming sensation Cameron van der Burgh has revealed on Twitter that he has had most of his medals and trophies stolen from him after his house was burgled on his birthday.

"Just been cleaned out at home. Besides my macs with pics, they took all of my irreplaceable world cup medals and trophies. Gutted"

Speaking to Darren Scott on Ballz Radio, Van Der Burgh revealed his shock at the burglary:

“It’s been a strange day. It’s my birthday, we went out and no-one was home.”

“They cleaned everything out: the computer, the photos and everything, whole bunches of medals,” Van der Burgh said.

Van der Burgh said that the thieves had broken in through his garage.

“They opened the garage, tucked everything in and just left.”

Van der Burgh said he was relieved that nobody had been harmed during the robbery.

“Thank God no one got hurt and that the dogs are okay.”

“You feel so violated that these people will come into your house and just pay no respect and take everything.”

Despite his shock and disappointment, the swimmer still managed to thank his fans for their birthday wishes:

"Thanks for all the birthday messages guys! Means a lot", he later Tweeted.