"Heartless" thieves pose as council workers

Posted on Oct 9, 2009

Offenders claiming to be from the council have stolen more than £14,000 from elderly residents in the Avon and Somerset area in the past two weeks.

Police are warning residents to be vigilant about letting in callers who come to their door that they are not expecting.

In the past fortnight there have been six incidents of distraction burglars gaining access to homes in Bristol, Weston-super-Mare and Bath.

PC Andrew Williams said: “These men have used various pretexts for gaining access to the homes of the victims. They have claimed that they have been sent to look at hedges and clear the garden, cut back trees and check the water in the property. In a number of cases the offender was wearing a suit and had a council style ID badge.”

He added: “These are heartless thieves who target elderly victims and often have an accomplice out of sight to gain access to the property while the householder is distracted.

“We are urging residents in the area to be on their guard and asking people with elderly parents to tell them about these incidents. We would also encourage people to contact us if they have any information about any incidents that have taken place in the past two weeks.”

Bristol City Council has also expressed its dismay that people are posing as council workers. They have stressed that council workers will always provide photographic ID and are more than happy to wait while the homeowner calls the office to check their identity.

Cabinet member for Environment and Community Safety, Cllr Gary Hopkins, said, “We are determined to crack down on this type of criminal, who usually targets the elderly and most vulnerable members of our community. Our Trading Standards officers have recently formed a joint Doorstep Crime Team in partnership with Avon and Somerset Police, which is dedicated to dealing with these sorts of crimes. By pooling our resources and working together, we are able to provide a quicker and more effective service that will hopefully see these criminals being put out of business.

“In the meantime, we would ask all residents to remain extra vigilant when anyone comes to their property. Where possible, Bristol City Council officers try to arrange home visits in advance, but where this is not the case, we would advise the resident to check the officer’s ID badge and telephone their office number to verify their identity. Any genuine council officer would be very happy for them to do this.”

If you have information about any of the incidents mentioned here please call the police on 0845 456 7000. Alternatively, call the charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via www.crimestoppers-uk.org