Security plea to the elderly in Wem
People in Wem are being warned to tighten up security after a conman pretending to be from the water board talked his way into the homes of two elderly women and stole hundreds of pounds.
The distraction burglaries, which happened within two hours of each other in Wem and Clive, are being linked by police.
Now officers are warning residents to be on their guard in case distraction burglars target the area again.
In the first incident a 78-year-old woman in Quarry View, Clive, answered the door to a man falsely claiming to be from Severn Trent Water.
Constable Dave Carpenter of West Mercia Police, said the victim was 'confused' and let the man in, but nothing was taken.
In the second incident a woman aged 78 in Roden Grove, Wem, answered the door to a man claiming to have been drilling nearby.
He said he needed to check her water supply and was allowed into the house where £640 was found to have been stolen soon after he left. Both incidents happened on August 8.
Constable Carpenter said: "It can be obvious from the outside that some houses are single occupation and are thus targeted, so consider putting a hi-vis jacket on a peg behind the door where someone can see that there is a working person at the house, or put football transfers in a bedroom window as though there was a youth in the house or an old bike in the garden as though there are children there."
He added he has applied to a police charity for a grant to pay for a gift for the victims in a bid to reduce the stress of their ordeals.
Peter Broomhall, mayor of Wem, said it was a rare incident for the town.
He said: "You need to look at the identity of people who knock on the door and the best way forward is not to let anybody into the house if you don't know them. We don't have a lot of crime in Wem but when we do people are warned about it."
By Tom Johannsen
