Burglar stole from 94-year-old before posing as a police officer to target him again

A burglar who stole cash from an elderly man returned the next day pretending to be a police officer so he could take even more money from his victim.

Barry Anderson claimed he was helping the 94-year-old when he first visited, by taking him two bags of shopping and then asking for £15 payment and a glass of water.

While the pensioner went to get the drink, Anderson, 47, let himself into the house in Peterborough and took £150 in cash from a tin as well as the victim’s mobile phone.

It turned out that the "shopping" Anderson took him on February 25 was in fact tins he had collected from a local food bank.

After the victim's daughter alerted police to what had happened, Anderson returned the following day and claimed to be a police officer who had found the man's mobile phone.

He went on to tell the man there was counterfeit money in circulation and that he should check his cash to make sure it was not fake.

The elderly man then handed over about £170 to Anderson who said he had a device outside to be able to check it, but he left and never returned.

The following day Anderson, of Hallfields Lane in Gunthorpe, was identified through CCTV inquiries.

Officers learned he had an offending history of targeting the elderly, including a conviction where he spent 10 years in prison for a violent assault on an 89-year-old, and issued a warrant to force entry to his home that night, where he was arrested.

He appeared at Huntingdon Law Courts on Thursday and was sentenced to four years and two months in prison after previously pleading guilty to two counts of burglary including theft of £320 in cash and a mobile phone, as well as impersonating a police officer.

Det Con Lily Deacon, who investigated, said: “Anderson is a predator who is a threat to the elderly. I am pleased we have been able to secure convictions and put him back in prison.”

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