Halesowen pensioner tricked out of savings (From Halesowen News)

Halesowen pensioner tricked out of savings

12:09pm Thursday 18th March 2010

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A FRAIL 88-year-old Halesowen woman has been tricked out of thousands of pounds of life savings by a callous thief claiming to be from the water board.

The man called asking to be let into her house to check the water supply and then ransacked her Huntingtree Road home, searching for cash and valuables.

The pensioner was not hurt and the trickster escaped with an undisclosed amount of cash, in the region of several thousand pounds.

Detective inspector Will O'Connor from Halesowen CID said: "Those responsible for this burglary have preyed on a very vulnerable lady who is not in the best of health.

"The man has taken advantage of her trusting nature to enter her home and take her savings, amounting to thousands of pounds.

"It is a callous and heartless act, that has obviously left the woman and her family extremely distressed by what's happened."

Police have now issued a warning to pensioners living in the area to be vigilant and to check the identity of any unexpected callers at their door.

The theft happened on Tuesday March 16 at about midday and police have described the offender as white, 5ft 5in, of medium build, aged in his 20s or 30s.

DI O'Connor added: "We don't know how the man arrived at the scene, and whether anyone else may have been working with him.

"Huntingtree Road is normally fairly busy and people may have been making their way to local schools at the time of the offence and could have seen him in the area.

"We urge anyone with information to contact us urgently."

Anyone able to help the police investigation is urged to contact Halesowen CID on 0845 113 5000 or speak to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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