Elderly and vulnerable preyed upon by burglar brothers who smashed key safes used by carers to enter homes

Prolific offenders: Alfie and Lennie Chambers 

Alfred and Leonard Chambers targeted pensioners in Merton, Croydon, Sutton and Sussex in a spate of "distraction" burglaries between January and March this year.

Their victims, who ranged from the blind to the deaf, to men and women in their 90s, were followed home, deceived by the brothers claiming to be police or, in some instances, woken up to discover the intruders had already broken into their homes.

Some were even burgled as they offered to make the brothers a cup of tea. 

Janet Curtis, 88, was returning to her Mitcham flat after having her tea and going to the bank when the men barged in behind her claiming to be police officers.

While one brother distracted her in the kitchen, the other stole £120 and a bank card from her handbag.

Mrs Curtis, who lives alone, said this week that she was now too scared to leave the flat.

She told this website: "I feel frightened out of my life at the moment. I have been ever so ill and I just don’t know what’s the matter with me.

"I think it has affected my health.

"I don’t feel so happy as I used to be. I just feel like sitting indoors all the time. That’s the worst thing I have ever had done to me."

She added: "I’ve lived here 45 years but my husband died. If he’d been alive he would have killed him."

Alfred, 34, of Glebe Court in Mitcham and Leonard, 42, of Stanmer Heights in Brighton, both pleaded guilty at Kingston Crown Court on Wednesday, July 29, to burgling Mrs Curtis and five other pensioners.

Alfred, known as "Alfie", admitted a further six burglaries and an attempted burglary.

Victim Cyril Platts, 92, of Thornton Heath in Croydon, returned home from the shops and went into his hallway just before 6pm on January 29 when he discovered the two brothers in his kitchen.

They had smashed the key safe outside his house, which was fitted to give his carer access to his home, before gaining entry.

The brothers said they were police officers.

One stayed with Mr Platts while the other raided the house, stealing his bank card and £500 which he had just withdrawn because his son was coming to visit.

Ruby Bedford, 86, who is blind, was home alone in Sutton when Alfred Chambers smashed the key safe box outside her house to gain entry.

He said he was a police officer and said he had just caught two boys stealing cash.

He asked what cash was kept in the property and she showed him her cash box.

After he left, she discovered the cash box on the floor with £1,200 missing.

Both brothers are prolific offenders. Alfred was first convicted of burglary in 1998 and Leonard's burglary convictions date back to 1989.

In 2011 they were found guilty of tying up a cashier at a Norfolk petrol station and threatening him with a knife before stealing more than £3,000 worth of cigarettes and £587 in cash.

Leonard, known as "Lennie", has previously lived in London Road, Mitcham.

He pleaded guilty to six burglaries and one theft.

Alfred admitted a total of 11 burglaries, two attempted burglaries and one theft.

They are due to be sentenced at Kingston Crown Court on Thursday.

KEY SAFE BOXES: ARE THEY SAFE?

The Supra C500 is the only police-approved key safe 

The boxes are commonly used by elderly people so that carers and relatives can let themselves in.

Richard Conyers, digital marketing executive at The Key Safe Company, said there are a number of measures people can take to make the safes secure:

- Use masonry screws to secure the safe to the wall.

- Screw into the brick, not the mortar.

- Fix the safe at least six inches from the side of the wall.

- Place the safe in a place which is not clearly visible from the street.

The Key Safe Company, which sells to local authorities, sells the only existing police-approved key safe in the UK.

The Supra C500, which costs £59.94, has undergone a series of rigorous tests by security experts who guaranteed it is as attack resistant as a domestic front door.