Burglars dupe Bristol OAPs by posing as council workers

Burglars posing as council workers have stolen more than £14,000 from elderly residents in the Bristol area in just two weeks.

Avon and Somerset Police dealt with six distraction burglaries across the city, and in Bath, where residents were duped by callers using council-style identification badges.

The incidents happened in Southville, Bedminster, Compton Martin, Speedwell, Bath and Weston-super-Mare.

Police have issued an e-fit of a man who stole money from a property in Speedwell Road at about 8.30am on September 22 after claiming to be a Bristol City Council worker.

Other distraction burglaries have involved visitors who said they were calling about overhanging trees, or to check the water supply at homes.

PC Andrew Williams said: "These men have used various pretexts for gaining access to victims' homes.

"They have claimed that they have been sent to look at hedges and clear the garden, cut back trees and check the water in the property.

"In a number of cases the offender was wearing a suit and had a council style ID badge.

"These are heartless thieves who target elderly victims and often have an accomplice out of sight to gain access to the property while the householder is distracted.

"We are urging residents in the area to be on their guard and asking people with elderly parents to tell them about these incidents. We would also encourage people to contact us if they have any information about any incidents that have taken place in the past two weeks."

Bristol City Council has stressed that council workers will always provide photographic ID and are more than happy to wait while the resident calls to check their identity.

Cabinet member for environment and community safety, Cllr Gary Hopkins, said: "We are determined to crack down on this type of criminal, who usually targets the elderly and most vulnerable members of our community.

"Our Trading Standards officers have recently formed a joint doorstep crime team in partnership with Avon and Somerset Police, which is dedicated to dealing with these sorts of crimes.

"Where possible, Bristol City Council officers try to arrange home visits in advance, but where this is not the case, we would advise the resident to check the officer's ID badge and telephone their office number to verify their identity.

"Any genuine council officer would be very happy for them to do this."

Anyone with information about these incidents should call the police on 0845 456 7000.