A WAR veteran has been left bruised and shaken after thugs barged in to his Winterbourne home and stole his holiday savings.

The two robbers, who claimed they were from the council, forced their way in after the 86-year-old answered his door, then became suspicious and tried to shut it.

The pensioner, who fought in Korea, was pushed towards the wall by one of the burly intruders. They ransacked the house and stole more than £1,000 saved for a family holiday.

His daughter, Denise Parfitt, 52, fears her father might not regain his confidence.

“It’s complete mindless thuggery. My dad fought for his country and saved lives. He was manhandled into the corner of the hallway and one of them said: ‘don’t move’. He said it was a very stern warning and this chap was 6ft 5ins and as wide as he was tall.”

“It was a horrendous shock,” Denise says. “He had a banging headache afterwards from the fright. He’s a very able, fit man who looks after the other residents, clearing the paths and cutting back the bushes. That’s probably all gone now.   

“You don’t go through your life working hard and saving money for a rainy day to have it all taken away by some bleep, bleep, bleep who doesn’t give a monkey about anything.”

The attack left him with bruising and a sore shoulder but the emotional scars are deeper.

“He’s staying with me now and I don’t think he’s got the confidence to go back. It’s not his safe home anymore, it’s been violated.” 

Denise has criticised Merlin Housing Society who run the sheltered housing in Winterbourne where the attack happened at about 7pm on Monday, November 3.

Her father pulled the emergency cord in the hall with no response. Denise says the cords are only checked every six months and an electrician said the unit was faulty. Two of the emergency cords are badly positioned, one above a fire, a second behind a door.

She says the security chain fittings make it impossible to see outside with it on and the outside lights are intermittent.

“Merlin should have changed the chains and made sure the residents are safe. Dad pulled his emergency cord in the hall twice but it didn’t work.

“Dad’s friends there were horrified by what happened to him. This has taken away their liberty, too. We shouldn’t have to make them housebound to keep them safe.”

Merlin’s communications manager, Faye Galvin, said residents’ safety was taken seriously.

“Our thoughts are with our customer following this awful attack and we are working with him and his family to make sure he once again feels safe and secure in his home.

“An engineer tested all the pull cords and they worked. Further investigations have revealed an intermittent fault in the unit in the hall, which we have replaced. We have also repositioned the pull cords in the lounge and kitchen.

“We’ve checked the external security lights at the property, and they are working, which would have helped our customer see the callers through his peephole.

“Although an internal wall near the front door of this customer’s home means the gap is not big enough to look through, lengthening the chain would give an intruder the chance to reach into the property.

“All the doors we fit meet the UK Police ‘Secure by Design’ standard. When we get a report to say a there is an issue with a security chain, we treat it as urgent.

“We always advise our residents to check the identity of callers by using the peephole in their door to see who is outside. If they are unsure, they should use the door chain, open the door and ask for ID to be passed through the gap. In light of this incident, we’ll be writing to all our customers in sheltered schemes reminding them to use the chains and stay safe.”

Police have issued an e-fit of one of the men who is about 6ft 5ins tall and well-built. He wore a woollen hat with a white rim, dark top, dark scruffy trousers, and white trainers.

The second man covered his face with a scarf. He was shorter, slim build, and wore a hat, light coloured coat, and dark trousers.

Det Con Alastair Binnie, investigating, said: “The man pictured held him against a wall while the second made a thorough search of the flat, stealing a large amount of cash from his wallet. 

“This was a serious incident and a very upsetting one for the elderly victim.”  

Anyone with information is asked to call 101, quoting 114631/14.