POLICE have appealed for witnesses and warned elderly people not to keep large amounts of money in their homes after thieves took £10,000 from a 94-year-old woman in Christchurch.
The money was stashed in a biscuit tin at the woman's flat on the Hanover Lea sheltered housing development at St Catherine's Hill.
Two men posing as workmen tricked their way into the flat on last Friday evening and after rifling her bedroom left with the cash.
The same men are believed to have been responsible for taking an undisclosed sum of money from a nearby flat and several failed attempts to trick their way into others by pretending to be grocery salesmen.
Christchurch police chief Insp Andrew Earley said: "These heartless men stole from vulnerable elderly people in their own homes."
They are both described as white men in their 20s, one 5ft 5 ins tall and stocky with light brown hair and the other 5ft 10ins, slim with dark hair.
Anyone with information about the suspects is asked to call Christchurch police on 01202 486333 or the confidential CrimeStoppers freephone hotline on 0800 555 111.
Meanwhile, Insp Earley urged residents, particularly the elderly, not to keep large sums of cash in their homes and to check the identity of any callers before allowing them in.
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