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Vulnerable woman injured in Lincoln burglary

Vulnerable woman injured in Lincoln burglary

Vulnerable woman injured in Lincoln burglary

Lincolnshire Police have launched an investigation and a witness appeal after a vulnerable woman was burgled in her own home in Lincoln.

The incident occurred on Laughton Crescent, Lincoln,  just before 10:30 on Friday night.

Having heard a knock, the victim opened her front door where she found a man, dressed in all black clothing and wearing gloves, who told her he was a police officer investigating recent burglaries in the area.

The woman asked for his identification but at that point he pushed his way into the house, breaking the door chain and knocking her to the ground in doing so.

Once inside, he rifled through a number of drawers and found her handbag containing a small purse, which he left with.

The woman’s handbag is a deep plum coloured Kipling bag bought some years ago from QVC.

It is a shoulder bag with a long thin strap and is described as being about 30cm wide and 20cm tall.

Inside was a matching coloured small purse containing a small amount of cash.

There were some loose wrapped sweets in the handbag.

The victim, who is aged 56 and has a medical condition and mobility issues, was not seriously hurt but was left understandably distressed and shaken.

The suspect is described as being a white man, approximately 30 years old, and around 5ft 10in.

Detective Inspector Jenny Waddington said:

“This was an awful incident. The victim has had the comfort of the safety of her own home invaded. She did everything she should have done in asking for identification but this offender was determined.

“We have a number of lines of enquiry in relation to this burglary but would like to hear from anyone who may have seen a man acting suspiciously in the Ermine last night or anyone who received a knock on their door.

“This lady did everything right but there are a couple of other safety measures which you can put in place if you receive an unsolicited knock on your door.

“The first is to remember that it’s very rare that any police officer would knock on doors at this time of night unless there was an urgent need – the reason the suspect stated in this case was not urgent.

“Also, any genuine police officer will be happy to talk to you through the door and show identification at a window. From that you will be able to take their name and collar number and can then ring 101 to check that they are who they say they are.

“The main thing to remember is that if you’re unsure then don’t engage with the person at your door and don’t let them in. The lady in this case did everything you could have but, unfortunately, the offender would not be deterred.

“The only thing to be thankful for is that she wasn’t seriously physically hurt.”

If you have any information about this incident please contact Lincolnshire Police via the non-emergency number 101, quoting incident number 479 of 20/06/2020.

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