POLICE in Chester are warning residents to be vigilant after an elderly lady became the victim of a distraction-type burglary in Newton.

At about 6.30pm on Sunday (August 15), two men purporting to be handymen offering to carry out fascia board cleaning, visited the home of an 84-year-old woman on Ethelda Drive, Newton.

One of the men distracted the lady by diverting her attention at the back of the property, whilst the second searched the address and stole a significant amount of cash from her home. Both the men left the address on foot immediately after the offence.

One of the men is described as white, aged in his late teens, around 5'3" tall, cleanly shaven with short dark hair. He wore a dark coloured formal suit and carried a catalogue containing various fascia boards and spoke with a Liverpudlian accent. The second man was white aged in his early to mid 20's, with curly black collar length hair. He was of medium build and wore dirty blue jeans with paint splatterings and a dark blue short sleeved top, he also spoke with a Liverpudlian accent.

Anyone with any information, particularly anyone in the local area who may have been approached by these men in a similar circumstance, should contact DC Mark Hughes on 0845 458 0000.