A gang is being hunted after a spate of burglaries and attempted break-ins across Norfolk and Suffolk.
In one incident, a man in his 80s was threatened with a screwdriver, and in another, a large sum of cash was stolen from a woman in her 90s.
And now, police have released CCTV images of men they want to speak to in connection with the incidents.
The first took place at about 2.30pm on April 9 in The Hall Close, Icklingham, where a man knocked on the door of a house and told the elderly resident that the water supply was contaminated and needed to be turned off.
The victim did not believe him, closed the door and reported the incident. The suspect then got into a silver-coloured Jaguar being driven by another man.
About an hour later, a house in Woodrush Road, Purdis Farm was targeted. A man heard the horn of a silver-coloured Jaguar being sounded as he returned home, and then found somebody had unsuccessfully tried to force his patio doors open. Four men were seen getting into the Jaguar.
At 4.20pm, three men broke into a house in Great Glemham Road, Stratford St Andrew through the back door and one of them held the victim – a man aged in his eighties – while the other two searched the house.
One of the men threatened the elderly man with a screwdriver and demanded money, stealing cash before leaving. They were seen to get into a grey-coloured car, believed to be a Jaguar. The victim suffered a minor graze to his arm.
It is then believed that the gang travelled to a house in Kings Dam in Gillingham. The owner arrived home at about 5.20pm to find two men standing outside her house who offered to carry out garden and driveway work.
The woman declined and the men left, but she then discovered the house had been ransacked and cash had been stolen. She described the men as both wearing shirts, ties and trilby style hats.
In Rectory Lane, Chedgrave, the victim returned to home to find that the front door had been forced open, the hallway radiator had been ripped off the wall and jewellery had been stolen.
At around 6pm at a home in Little Fransham, a woman in her 90s was disturbed by a group of four or five men who had broken in. One of the men said they were from the water board. The men then searched some of rooms and stole a large sum of cash.
The woman was not hurt, and described one of the men as white, between 20 and 40 years old, six
feet tall, well-built and wearing a
hat.
And a house on Chapel Lane, Framingham Pigot, was broken into between 9.30am and 7.45pm and jewellery was stolen.
Anyone who has information or recognises the men in the CCTV footage should contact DC Grimble at Suffolk Police on 101, or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 or via an online form at www.crimestoppers-uk.org
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here