Distraction burglars posed as council roof repairers

Apr 30 2008 by Liam Murphy, Liverpool Daily Post

A 90-YEAR-OLD woman from Wirral was burgled by men pretending to be roof repairers from the council.

Police say it could be connected to an earlier incident when a man claiming to be a neighbour stopped her husband and offered to carry out repairs on their home.

Both incidents happened on Saturday, April 26, and began when the elderly woman’s 93-year-old husband was waiting at a bus-stop near their home on Ferns Road in Bebington.

The man, driving a small white van, introduced himself as a new neighbour and said he was currently making repairs to the property he had bought.

He offered to carry out repairs to the man's roof but the man refused because it is a council property and any work there would be done by the council.

A short time later, at around 12.45pm, two men called at the house claiming to be from the council.

They said they had come to make repairs to her roof but would need payment from her before they could start.

The two men went into the house, the woman gave them the money and they left.

But it appears that a third man had also got into the house and stolen the woman's handbag containing cash.

The other men did not return to carry out repairs.

One of the men is described as white, around 26 years old with dark, curly hair. He was wearing dark trousers and a green fluorescent, well-worn, jacket. The other two men were also white and appeared to be younger than the other man.

Police are appealing to anyone who may have any information about these men or about the incident to contact Birkenhead CID on 0151 777 2265 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.