Leigh man shaken after burglary as he sat in front-room

The elderly resident, who has hearing and mobility problems, has been left badly shaken and in constant anxiety after the shocking break-in at his Leigh bungalow.

His daughter, Linda Baxter, has been left furious the crooks rummaged around his Picketts Avenue home and took advantage of him despite knowing he was home at the time.

After he received a delivery from a nearby café, the crooks forced opened the front-door and ransacked every room of the home while he sat in the front-room.

The thieves carried out a messy search of his draws, boxes and wallets for valuables before fleeing the scene last Friday at roughly 3pm.

Following the thieves exit, the man was left “shocked” to see his door ajar, lights on and mess created, realising then he had been burgled.

He said: “I’ll be honest, I was badly shaken up and it all hit me suddenly, I stood in my doorway and thought that I didn’t remember leaving the light on, I noticed the doors open.

“It was really shocking, one of the worst things is to think that someone has come in and routed through my house, gone through all of my things and I have been really anxious since.”

Following the incident, the man has had security cameras installed in his home and new locks fitted.

Linda said: “I am just furious for him and anyone this happens to. It is absolutely disgusting that people prey on the vulnerable and do this to anyone, it is just not on and it looks like, in our videos, he was targeted. The man just goes straight in there like he knows no one is there.”

Linda added that the “community have been amazing” in the aftermath.

“We have upped his security, and we just hope people like this get caught, it can happen to people in much worse situations than my dad,” she said.

A police spokesman said: “We have launched a burglary investigation after an incident in Leigh. A suspect or suspects have gained entry to the property and searched the bedrooms of the property before leaving."