17/10/2002
Thieves target elderly in their own homes
An 81-year-old pensioner has been struck with a golf club during a burglary at her north Belfast home.
The attack happened in the Fortwilliam area at around 8.00pm on Wednesday evening when the woman discovered a man in the bedroom of her house.
The woman, who was on the phone to a friend at the time, attempted to stop the intruder leaving. He struck her with a golf club injuring the woman's wrist and arm, before making his escape with a quantity of jewellery and a chequebook.
Earlier on Wednesday afternoon a man claiming to be from the Housing Executive robbed another pensioner in Benraw Green in west Belfast.
The bogus caller gained entry to the woman's home by saying that work was to be carried out on the property's garden.
A sum of money and a ladies watch were found to be missing and police believe an accomplice took these while the bogus caller kept the woman occupied in the back garden for around 20 minutes.
Police described the caller as in his forties, six-feet tall and of slim build with black hair. He was wearing a white shirt and black trousers and spoke in a cultured voice with a slight foreign accent.
Police have urged people to ask for and check the validity of the identity of all callers before permitting them access to property.
Speaking following the attacks PSNI Crime Prevention Officer Norman Gibson said that the number of these attacks on the elderly was on the increase and appealed to local communities to help protect these vulnerable members of society.
He said: "The people who are perpetrating these crimes are cowards. They are to be condemned by the media, by police and by their communities."
(SP)
The attack happened in the Fortwilliam area at around 8.00pm on Wednesday evening when the woman discovered a man in the bedroom of her house.
The woman, who was on the phone to a friend at the time, attempted to stop the intruder leaving. He struck her with a golf club injuring the woman's wrist and arm, before making his escape with a quantity of jewellery and a chequebook.
Earlier on Wednesday afternoon a man claiming to be from the Housing Executive robbed another pensioner in Benraw Green in west Belfast.
The bogus caller gained entry to the woman's home by saying that work was to be carried out on the property's garden.
A sum of money and a ladies watch were found to be missing and police believe an accomplice took these while the bogus caller kept the woman occupied in the back garden for around 20 minutes.
Police described the caller as in his forties, six-feet tall and of slim build with black hair. He was wearing a white shirt and black trousers and spoke in a cultured voice with a slight foreign accent.
Police have urged people to ask for and check the validity of the identity of all callers before permitting them access to property.
Speaking following the attacks PSNI Crime Prevention Officer Norman Gibson said that the number of these attacks on the elderly was on the increase and appealed to local communities to help protect these vulnerable members of society.
He said: "The people who are perpetrating these crimes are cowards. They are to be condemned by the media, by police and by their communities."
(SP)
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