A 91-year-old woman was left “terrified” after bogus workmen duped their way into her home and stole £250.
Frail pensioner May Ferguson was alone when the men knocked at her door and claimed they were from a water supply company.
After she let them in, one of the men distracted May while the other ransacked her living room and took £250 in cash.
The men then made off with the money, leaving poor May ‘terrified’.
Her daughter, Mary Morris, believes the callous thieves targeted her mother deliberately and waited until she was home by herself to strike.
Mary, 66, told the Daily Record: "It was about 5pm and the outdoor buzzer went. A man at the door said he was a workman and she let him in.
"He said the water was getting turned off at 8pm - he said it was something to do with the gutters and the water.
"He asked to go into toilet to check the water and she there was nothing wrong with her water but he asked to check it.
"She started to get a bit jittery, and he was trying to distract her, telling her to have a seat.
"She started to smell a rat and said to him 'let me out', 'let me out'. She pushed her way past him and saw a black man coming out of the living room. She gasped and he looked at her then ran out."
Visibly shaken, May, who suffers from angina, knocked at her neighbours door afterwards to ask for help.
Although she wasn't hurt in the ordeal, the normally "cheery" pensioner, has been too frightened to be alone at home at night since the incident.
Her family are desperate for the culprits to be traced and brought to justice and hope by speaking about the ordeal they can warn others with elderly parents and grandparents to be on their guard.
"She was terrified,” added Mary. “She has angina so she could take a heart attack.
"It's not even the money - it's the fact they invaded her privacy and went into her house when they shouldn't have been.
"We don't want that to happen to anyone else."
Police are currently investigating the incident and scouring CCTV footage to trace the "vile" culprits.
Detective Constable Joe Gear said: “I would ask members of the public to be on their guard, clearly these two men are trying to dupe householders into believing they are legitimate workmen.
"Their aim is to con money out of vulnerable people in their own homes. If anyone saw these two men or noticed them hanging around the area, I would urge them to contact us.
"Any small piece of information could be vital in helping us trace these vile men.”
Anyone with information is being asked to call police on 101, quoting incident number 2770 of 12 May, 2021.
