Appeal for information following confrontational burglary at pensioner's home in Liverpool

We are appealing for information following a confrontational burglary at the home of an elderly woman in Vauxhall.

At 2.25am today, Wednesday 4th March, unknown male offenders with their faces covered, forced entry into a house in Herm Road and made a search of the premises while the occupant, a woman in her 90s, was asleep in bed. One of the offenders placed his hand over the victim’s mouth to prevent her from speaking.

A quantity of cash was taken from the house before the offenders made off.

The woman was taken to hospital suffering from shock and bruising to her face.

An investigation is underway and house-to-house, forensic and CCTV enquiries are being carried out in the local area.

Detective Sergeant Richie Shillito said: "Everyone has the right to feel safe and secure in their own homes and this was a particularly cowardly and despicable incident involving an elderly lady who was left badly shaken and with visible injuries.

"I know that members of the public will be shocked by what has taken place and I would appeal for their help in finding out who is responsible and bringing them to justice.

"Were you in the area around Herm Road in the early hours of this morning and saw anyone or anything suspicious? Did you capture anything significant on your car’s dash-cam or CCTV camera? Please come forward and speak to us so that we can take positive action.

"We understand the huge impact that incidents such as this have on our local communities. Since we launched our dedicated Operation Castle we have seen a significant decrease in the number of burglaries but we are committed to finding those who are responsible and putting them behind bars."

Anyone with information is asked to DM @MerPolCC, call 101 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 quoting reference 20000137884.

Advice on how to keep your valuable safe and secure; marking your property to deter burglars, and a checklist when leaving the home can be found here: https://www.merseyside.police.uk/cp/crime-prevention/residential-burglary/