Elderly tenants at a very sheltered housing scheme in Barton Hill, Bristol, are up in arms following a spate of unsolved thefts of their property.

One worried tenant said he wished he had never moved into the Guinness Trust's Lincoln Gardens building in Lincoln Street.

Paul Tilley, 61, told the Bristol Post: "There have been at least 10 thefts from people's individual flats here. In some cases £150 to £200 was taken.

"One of the victims was a 99-year-old woman whose bag was rifled.

"People came here expecting to be safe and secure. They're very upset to find they are not. No one has been caught for these crimes."

Mr Tilley, who has cancer, lives with his wife, Joan, who is 80. They moved in last June after problems arose at the sheltered housing unit where they used to live.

The Tilleys had been delighted to be going in to the 55-flat VSH scheme at Lincoln Gardens, which only opened a year ago.

They have a two-bedroom flat, for which they pay £117 a week.

Alderman John Kiely, a former city councillor, was approached by some of the residents.

He said: "The police have been in contact with the Guinness Trust over the thefts but to no avail.

"Security is of paramount importance to older residents and they rightly expect their homes to be free from thieves wandering up and down the corridors."

A Guinness Trust spokesman told the Bristol Post: "The scheme met Secure by Design standards, the police seal of approval, in December 2007 just before it opened.

"We are aware of a number of problems at the scheme and we are regularly meeting with the residents.

"We are also liaising with the police about the security issues and we are implementing a number of suggestions they made.

"We are getting quotes and specifications to install CCTV. We are removing the external handles from a fire exit.

"We are also improving the signing-in process. Everyone who comes into the scheme now has to wear a badge.

"These are housing management issues that are important to people's quality of life and we are keen to get them right."