Elderly people in Itchen Abbas, near Winchester, have spoken of their fear after a couple were duped out of £650 in a cruel distraction burglary.

On Monday, two teenage boys talked their way into the home of the couple, both in their late 80s, by pretending their aunt had sent them.

They trustingly let them in but while one kept them talking, the other slipped out, saying he needed the toilet.

Instead, he rifled the couple's belongings. When the pair left, the husband and his wife found around £650 had been stolen from their bedroom.

Now the victim has spoken out about the fear dominating the tight-knit community of elderly people in the village's sheltered accommodation.

"We keep getting calls with nobody on the end of the line," he said. "It's really a horrible state of affairs at the moment.

"There's a lot of fear around. I'm not afraid - just disgusted. Those kids can't have been more than 15 or 16. You can't trust anybody these days."

A neighbour said she narrowly avoided a similar fate. "The boys came round to my back door, but I had the bolt on. They raninto the next garden. It's very worrying. I'm over 80, I can't walk and can't go out unless I have a car."

One resident, who did not wish to be named, said the burglary had heightened his own safety concerns. "I always worry about security here. It's quite isolated and if any kids had walked past, I probably wouldn't have noticed. They could have picked any house.

"If they're bold enough to waltz into someone's home, they're certainly bold enough to break in. It's very disturbing. I really don't understand the mentality behind this kind of thing."

The burglary follows a spate of similar distraction crimes in Micheldever, Colden Common and Winchester in the past two weeks.

Police say they are becoming increasingly concerned and urged anyone with information about the Itchen Abbas incident to come forward.

The criminals were both described as white, aged between 15 and 17, with short brown hair and of slim build. One was five foot two inches, say police, and the other was five foot four inches. They were both wearing blue tops and dark trousers.

Call Winchester crime desk on 0845-0454545 if you think you can help.