POLICE are hunting a burglar who broke into three homes in Chipping Sodbury while their elderly owners slept.

In the first incident at 12.30am, a 92-year-old woman woke up to find the intruder opening her bedroom door. He made off and she found her purse was missing and her back door open.

Just after 5.33am officers were called by a member of the public reporting spotting a man climbing into a neighbour’s window. Police searched the area but were unable to locate the suspect. The 68-year-old woman householder’s purse was stolen.

The third incident was reported just after 6am. An 82-year-old woman woke to find her window had been forced and her purse taken.

All the incidents happened overnight between Tuesday, May 3 and Wednesday, May 4 in the area around the High Street, Hatters Lane and Gorlands Road.

All the witnesses describe the suspect as a young white man.

Neighbourhood Sergeant Steve Ives said: "The householders are understandably upset. We have arranged for all three to have a visit from the police Bobby Van which visits victims of crime to review their home security.

"We're grateful to the vigilant member of the public who did exactly the right thing by calling straight away after seeing someone breaking into a neighbour's home. We're carrying out house-to-house and other enquiries and I'd ask anyone with any information which could help our enquiries to get in touch.

"While this sort of incident is unusual for Chipping Sodbury, I’d remind people to make sure they lock up and set the alarm, if they have one, at night as well as when they go out. It’s also a good idea to keep portable valuables like car keys, mobile phones, handbags and wallets safely hidden away."

He added that joining Neighbourhood Watch has been shown to help make your area safer. Find out more avonandsomerset.police.uk/nhw

Anyone with any information should call 101 quoting reference 5216095632 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

If you can see someone acting suspiciously or have just seen them make off, call 999 immediately. Otherwise call 101 straight away.