Con artists stole a valuable coin collection, jewellery, a passport and thousands of pounds in cash during two incidents in Crawley.

The victims, a man in his sixties and a woman in her nineties, were both approached by men claiming to be checking for drainage problems or water leaks. They let the men into their homes, only to later discover they had been robbed.

Police have not currently established a link between the two incidents but have warned residents to be on their guard.

In the first case, two men called at the address of a man in his late sixties in Vanbrugh Close, Bewbush, on Tuesday 18 May. They said they were from the council and were checking for water leaks. They were in the house for some time and after they left the man found that a valuable coin collection had been taken.

Sussex Police said both men were described as white with accents that were “not local to the area”, wearing Hi-Vis yellow jackets, medical masks and black baseball caps.

In the second incident, on the following day, a man described as of “southern European appearance and accent”, with short black hair, wearing medical mask, a grey jumper with motif on the front, and blue jeans, called at an address in Garrick Walk, Tilgate, saying he was checking for a drainage problem.

After he left the resident, a woman in her nineties, realised that a small safe containing several thousand pounds cash had been taken, as well as two sapphire rings, some saving books and a passport. However the books and passport were later found abandoned in Southwater.

PC Matt Hollingdale of Crawley CID said; “If you were in those areas on 18 or 19 May and saw any suspicious activity, or if you have had similar callers recently, please contact us either online (link will be added) or by calling 101, quoting serials 554 of 18/05 or 932 of 19/05.

“These type of crimes are very infrequent in this area and you can help us keep it so by ensuring suspicious activity is regularly reported – using 999 if suspects are actually present.

There are a also number of specific ways you can prevent distraction burglary. Always remember “if in doubt, keep them out”.

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