Man in his 90s falls victim to Telford distraction raid

A man in his 90s was targeted by thieves who sneaked into his house near Telford and stole his wallet during a distraction raid, police said today.

The elderly man was at his home in Ridgway, High Ercall, when he found an unknown man in his hallway.

The man claimed he was trying to get to the back of the property to put up some new garden fencing in the area, police said.

Police said the victim became suspicious and managed to usher the intruder out. He went back inside the property and ensured all of his doors were locked.

However, later that night, it was discovered a room had been ransacked and a wallet containing personal documents had been stolen.

A Telford Police spokeswoman said: "It appears that an individual had entered the property at some point on Wednesday evening and had gone into a room at the back and stolen the elderly man's wallet.

"Around the same time the victim confronted an intruder in his home and ushered him out of the property after becoming suspicious of what he said he was doing. It is believed that the caller to the man's home was a distraction burglar and we are eager to identify who he is.

"He is described as white, aged in his mid to late twenties and around 5ft 8ins to 5ft 10ins tall. He was wearing a hat, a smart white button shirt and black fitted trousers with light coloured trainers. He was clean shaven."

Call Telford Police on 101.