A sneak burglar posed as a boiler engineer to trick his way into a vulnerable pensioner's home and steal from her.
Robert Bain had been released from a blackmail prison sentence on licence when he targeted the 82-year-old in her bungalow. The victim, who has mobility issues and lives alone in Whickham, Gateshead, was in her front room reading on October 30 last year when there was suddenly a loud bang on her window.
She opened her door and saw Bain, who said he was there to service her boiler and despite her saying she was not expecting him, he insisted, so she let him in. Kevin Wardlaw, prosecuting, told Newcastle Crown Court: "He began looking at the radiators in the kitchen and living room then went to the rest of the bungalow and returned to the living room after five minutes.
