£3,000 reward offered in hunt for burglar

A £3,000 reward has been offered for information on a Chapel-en-le-Frith burglary, in which an 86-year-old woman was attacked.
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The incident occurred at a property on Sycamore Road, between 4.30am and 5am on June 24.

The victim’s son, who did not wish to be named, said: “This ‘hero’ got into the house, she heard a noise, decided to get up and go to the bathroom and he was blocking the way, stood in the hallway. It’s not right, she’s 86, she doesn’t deserve this.”

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The intruder forced her back into her bedroom, causing scratches and bruises to her face and hands.

The son explained that his brave mother tried to negotiate with the burglar: “She said: ‘If I give you this money, will you go away?’ But he didn’t and she said: ‘You told lies!’ She’s quite remarkable. She loves CSI and even suggested to police to scrape her fingernails for his DNA.”

The grandmother gave the offender an envelope containing £500, which she had put to one side to repay relatives for doing odd jobs for her.

The son continued: “An 86-year-old shouldn’t be subjected to that. She’s very concerned about being by herself. She’s only just done the first night on her own. She was very, very nervous. We just want him to be caught.”

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The 61-year-old, of Chinley, added: “It’s not just somebody trying the door, they carefully planned it. They even removed a section of fence between Sycamore Road and Long Lane to take a look. It’s quite scary. There were no signs of a break-in. Either she left the door open, which I don’t think she did, or somebody had a key.”

He explained that the burglary could be linked to when his sister’s house in New Mills was broken into and a set of keys was taken, including a key to his mum’s house.

The offender is described as a white man of stocky build, wearing dark clothing and gloves and had his face covered.

Crimestoppers is offering a reward of up to £3,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible. Call the charity on 0800 555111.