Four bogus call crimes in one day

Police have described the crimes against the elderly as "despicable"

Four elderly people were targeted by bogus callers in one day in Surrey, police have said.

One of the people, a 69-year-old man from Ottershaw, turned away a man who claimed he needed to turn a tap off due to a burst pipe in his home.

But callers who targeted three others on Monday, in the Woking and Byfleet areas, managed to gain entry.

In one of the incidents, two women - aged 89 and 78 - were pushed to the ground and had to be treated for shock.

The women were targeted by a man who said he needed to show them something he had damaged outside.

'Despicable crimes'

He fled with a purse and cash after forcing his way into the property in Woking, at about 1630 BST.

A second distraction burglary happened in the Westfield area of Woking when a 72-year-old woman answered a knock on the door to be told there was someone trying to gain access via a ladder at the back of her property.

She showed the suspect, who said his father was calling the police, into her home.

He offered to check on her belongings, and once he had left the house the victim noticed that her jewellery boxes had been disturbed.

Leather wallet

In the third offence, on Monday night, a group of men stole a British Legion card from an 81-year-old man in Byfleet after approaching him in the street as he returned home.

They had told him they had seen a man carrying a leather wallet leaving the pensioner's property by a back window, and offered to search his flat.

One suspect stayed with the victim by the front door while the others went inside.

Supt Chris Moon described the crimes as "despicable" and urged vulnerable residents to not let people they did not know into their homes and to check the identification of any callers.