Bogus officials steal Kidderminster pensioner's savings

Thieves stole an elderly woman's savings after posing as water board officials at her Kidderminster home. Police today described the theft as "despicable" saying the pensioner, in her 80s, had been badly affected by the burglary.

Officers are now warning other pensioners and the vulnerable to be on their guard.

A man claiming to be from the water board called at the woman's home at 3.45pm on Wednesday.

He said he needed to check her water supply andwalked in despite her saying she wanted to call her son first, and then kept her occupied in the kitchen.

An accomplice is then thought to have sneaked in through the open front door and gone upstairs where he took a large amount of money from a cash tin.

The pensioner's son arrived home shortly afterwards and escorted one of the men from the premises.

While challenging him about his identity, a second man emerged from a side gate after leaving the house via the back door. Both men then got into a grey Mazda 6 which pulled up nearby.

Dc Marc Waring of Kidderminster CID said: "Stealing an elderly woman's savings is a despicable offence."