Distraction burglary in Calne - appeal for witnesses

Detectives investigating a distraction burglary in Calne are urging anyone with information to contact police.

At approximately 2.15pm yesterday (9/02), a man called at the address in The Pippin and distracted the homeowner – a woman in her 70s – while a second man entered the property via the rear door.

A safe containing a large amount of money was stolen during the incident. We believe the men have attended the address on three separate occasions prior to this incident under the guise of carrying out work at the property.

Det Sgt Darren Penny, of our Op Fortitude team, said: “We are conducting extensive enquiries in relation to this incident which has understandably caused a significant amount of upset and distress to the victim.

“I’d urge anyone living in the area who may have seen two men carrying out building work to a property in The Pippin over the past two weeks to please get in touch. Do you have information which could assist in identifying those responsible? Do you have CCTV or a doorbell camera which could have captured footage relevant to our investigation? Please get in touch.”

We’d like to urge residents to be mindful of distraction burglars and how they operate.

Det Sgt Penny added: “Distraction burglars will pretend to be someone they are not in order to gain entry to your house. They may claim to be from a care agency, the council or utility company, they could ask to leave a note for a neighbour or request a drink of water. They often work in teams, which appears to be the case in this situation.”

To help prevent incidents of this nature, please consider the following:

• Use your door viewer to see who’s there

• if you open the door put the chain on first • always ask for ID and check it with the company before letting somebody into your home

• use the phone number advertised in the phone book or online, as the number on their identity card could be fake. For a utility company, call the customer service department. Close the door while you do this

• remember that genuine callers won’t mind checks. If you feel at all unsure, schedule a time for the caller to come back when a friend or relative is there

• for pre-planned appointments with utility companies, a password scheme can be set up.

If you feel threatened or in danger by the presence of the caller, call 999.

Anyone with information in relation to this incident, should call 101 and quote crime reference number 54220014367.