A PENSIONER has been targeted by a conman claiming that rubbish was contaminating the water in her house after the recent floods.

The 76-year-old locked the man in her house after she realised money had been stolen from her purse but the suspect escaped through a window.

The man conned his way into her house when asked whether the woman had received a letter about the problem with contamination and then asked her to watch the kitchen taps while he went into the bathroom.

A few minutes later, the woman became suspicious and went to the bathroom to look for the man.

He was not there, and she found him in her bedroom looking into her bedside cabinet. He said he was checking pipes and then went into a second bedroom.

The woman checked her purse and found that about £50 was missing after she had let him into her home on Belle Vue Court in Stockton at about 6pm on Tuesday, November 27.

In total, the man stole a large quantity of cash which had been saved for Christmas presents and a gold bracelet with high sentimental value was also taken.

The man is described as a white male, about 5ft 6in tall, aged in his early thirties with a chubby face. He was wearing a black woolly hat, a black fleece with a white logo and a yellow high visibility jacket, black tracksuit bottoms and black workman style boots.

Anyone who may have seen the man in the area around the time of the incident or anyone with information regarding it, is asked to contact DC Greg Hodgson of Stockton CID on the non-emergency 101 number or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.