FOUR burglaries in Minehead on Saturday – targeted at elderly people’s bungalows and believed to be part of a spate of break-ins – have left residents upset and angry that they were not warned by police.

Tom Hall, 80, of Old Farm Road, said he and his wife Sally, 67, were away at the weekend visiting family, when they got a call from the police on Sunday to say they had been burgled, and asking when they would be back.

Nearby neighbours who were also away at the time, had suffered break-ins the same night, he said.

“We rushed back from London and the police were there, people were taking fingerprints, the house was upside down and trashed, and jewellery, watches and some military medals were gone,” said Tom, who is a member of West Somerset Council.

“As a councillor, I walked around the area to notify people, and they said burglaries had been going on for about two weeks and they were really cross, asking why the police had not notified us.”

The thieves used whatever they could find to smash their way into the properties in the raids on Saturday night.

At the Halls’ home, they broke in by throwing a concrete plinth through a double glazed glass door and with neighbours away, no-one heard them, said Tom.

Some people reported seeing lights on in the house, which he believes the thieves did to make everything seem normal.

They stole jewellery including two watches of great sentimental value – one a World War One officer’s wristwatch that had belonged to Sally’s father, the other a special 50th birthday gift to Sally from her uncle.

They also took precious antique family rings and some of Tom’s military medals from his days as a soldier, when he was involved in events in North Africa and Tripoli, although other things like a laptop, TV and mobile were left.

“We will claim for everything but some things are of sentimental value and you never get that back,” said Tom.

“The journey home was horrible. We were rushing but I don’t know why as there was nothing we could do about it – when we saw everything, we felt like we just wanted to shut the door and disappear.

“They had ripped off the centre panel of a wardrobe, the drawers were buckled, the lino was damaged, the bed was covered in jewellery boxes,” he said.

“When you see it you feel violated that someone has done this to your things, and the first thing my wife did was to change the sheets.”

He said they had swept up and cleaned, and got the smashed door fixed, and the community had been wonderful.

Tom said that, before he went away for the weekend, he had noticed a strange man sitting in an old car for some time, smoking. The man drove off when Tom went to ask if he needed any help – but he was told the man was there again on Saturday.

When asked about the thefts earlier this week by the Free Press, Neighbourhood Beat Manager PC Joseph Sanderson said: “We’re actively investigating eight burglaries which have occurred in Minehead over the past two weeks.

“In some of the incidents, items have been used by offenders to break a window and gain access. Items stolen have included jewellery, cash and electronic equipment.

“Neighbourhood Watch messages have been sent out to inform local residents and we’ve also carried out house-to-house enquiries in the area, and distributed leaflets to appeal for witnesses and offer crime prevention advice,” he said.

Anyone with information about the burglaries is asked to call PC Sanderson in the neighbourhood team by calling 101.