From the gutter

DISGUSTED . . . Kenneth Hart at his home in Cranbrook Street where conmen preyed on his invalid wife

THIEVES have brought double heartbreak after tricking an invalid pensioner out of £80 — and then stealing her husband’s war medals.

The pair posed as council workers and demanded that Margaret Hart pay them £80 for clearing leaves from the guttering of her home in Cranbrook Street, Clarksfield.

Trusting Margaret (60) handed over the money and let them upstairs after they asked to use the toilet.

Instead, they ransacked a bedroom and stole three war medals belonging to her husband Kenneth. during the theft on Tuesday at 12.30pm.

Margaret suffers from myotonic dystrophy, a muscle wasting condition which means she can’t walk or raise her arms. She also slurs her words and sleeps a lot as the condition gets progressively worse.

Kenneth (70) said: “I have to do everything for my wife and if I go out I have to get someone to come and look after her or make sure she is in bed asleep. On Tuesday she was fast asleep and I knew I wouldn’t be long, so I left her in bed and went to meet a friend.

“I phoned her when I was on my way home and she was up and about and said there were some men from the council in the house so I told her to tell them to come back another time when I would be there, but it was too late.”

Kenneth discovered that his three war medals — a United Nations medal from his time in Cyprus, a general service medal from service in Yemen and a national service medal — had gone missing from a cupboard in the bedroom.

He said: “It boils my blood to think that these people had been watching the house and could see what condition my wife was in. She was at the front door in her wheelchair when they arrived, because it was sunny, and they totally took advantage of her.

“I am so relieved that they didn’t hurt her in any way and also that we did not have any more money in the house or anything of value.

“It’s not the medals I am bothered about it’s just the complete lack of thought and respect these men had for my wife, our property and our belongings.

“We are just a normal couple who don’t have much and these men targeted us because of Margaret’s condition — it makes me sick to my stomach.

“For someone to prey on a woman who can’t do anything for herself is just wicked. She is extremely upset and confused and it will take her a long time to recover.”

If anyone has information about the incident which happened at around 12.30pm, call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.