Shropshire Star

Oswestry woman in her 90s targeted by 'water company' distraction burglar

An Oswestry woman in her 90s was targeted by a burglar who pretended to be from a water company.

Published
Police appeal for witnesses

The sneak thief conned his way into his victim's home in Hawthorne Grove and stole cash from a bedroom.

West Mercia Police today appealed for help in tracing the burglar.

The crime took place on the afternoon of Friday, September 6.

A police spokesman said: "At around 1.30pm, a man is reported to have knocked on the door of a property and told the victim – a woman in her 90s – he needed to urgently check her water pipes as there had been a water supply problem nearby.

"The man then told her to go outside and shake the pipes while he stayed inside the house. Shortly after, the man left the victim discovered there had been a search of the upstairs bedrooms and a quantity of cash had been stolen."

The man is described as white, in his 50s, around 5ft 5in tall, and clean shaven. He was wearing a navy baseball cap, a pale blue shirt, navy blue trousers and black gloves.

Police believe the man walked away with another man of a similar description. A red van was seen in the area but it is not known whether this vehicle was linked.

Enquiries are ongoing but officers would like to hear from anyone who was in the area, who witnessed the incident or who saw anyone matching the above description.

Anyone with any information should call 101 quoting incident number 335S of September 6.

Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 or at crimestoppers-uk.org

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