Artist's impressionA DISABLED 77-year-old woman has pledged not to let the actions of a thief who brazenly walked into her home and rifled through her possessions change her life.

She was one of four elderly people robbed by thieves in their homes in Westbury and Warminster last Wednesday and police fear a team of criminals could be prowling the area targeting vulnerable people.

Joan Paterson, of Cotswold Close, Warminster, came face to face with a man who had walked through her back door and stolen a £200 gold watch.

Mrs Paterson, who admits she is a near recluse, has had two major heart operations.

She said: "I heard a noise in my bedroom and when I opened the door I came face to face with a strange man.

"I had no idea what he was doing and I was in shock, he had a clenched fist which worried me but later I realised he must have been holding my watch."

She said the man was smartly dressed and polite.

"When I was younger I would have said 'what the hell are you doing here?' but I was in shock," she said.

"My doctor said he was surprised that I didn't offer him tea and biscuits."

Mrs Paterson has pledged not to let the incident affect her and said she will fight on and not change her ways.

She said: "I refuse to let this man change my lifestyle, you can't start locking yourself up."

The thief rifled through drawers and cupboards and emptied her emergency hospital bag. Mrs Paterson's experience was one of a wave of doorstep crimes on the same day.

Just an hour later another burglar walked through an open door at a 93-year-old woman's home in Pound Street, Warminster.

He said he needed to borrow a pen but walked off with several hundred pounds.

Two hours later a man and a young teenage boy broke into a home on Bradley Road, Warminster, and offered advice on the 83-year-old woman's kitchen.

When she tried to fetch a neighbour the two left with money from her purse.

Later in the evening in Westbury a man, again accompanied by a young teenager, tried to force his way into a 100-year-old woman's home.

They claimed to be from the water board but left empty-handed.

Police fear these crimes may be connected. PC Mark Rawstron, of Warminster police, said: "It is difficult to tell if it is the same person because some of the descriptions are different.

"But there may be a team of burglars prowling the area targeting the elderly."

Elderly people have been warned to keep their doors and windows locked and always use a security chain on the front door.

The man who stole from Mrs Paterson's home is white, smartly dressed, with short blond hair.

Anyone with information should call Warminster police on (01985) 847000 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.