AN elderly disabled man lost £1,380 savings after he became the victim of a distraction burglary, a jury heard.

Two men called at Austin Webster's semi-detached home to fix loose roof tiles.

But one man said he was leaving to mend a downpipe at another property.

Seventy-two-year-old Mr Webster took £20 from his savings, which were stored in a bag in a bureau downstairs, to pay for the job, Gareth Walters, prosecuting, told Worcester Crown Court.

The other man joined his colleague to load ladders back on their white van.

Mr Webster, of Bruce Road, Kidderminster, then checked his bureau which he had relocked - and found his cash had been stolen.

Eamon McGrath was charged after alert neighbours took his van's registration number and accurately described the vehicle, which had a red stripe along the side.

Opportunity

McGrath, aged 41, of Haslucks Green Road, Shirley, Birmingham, denies burglary on December 19 last year.

The prosecutor told the jury: "This was a classic distraction burglary, where people attend the home of an elderly person with a pretence which gives them the opportunity to get inside."

Mr Webster, who lived alone, answered his door to find a man who told him he had replaced some tiles in the past.

The man said he noticed a number of missing tiles and it was agreed they should be replaced at a cost of £20.

Police found similar roof tiles in McGrath's van.

But he was adamant that the van had never been in Kidderminster that day.

The trial continues.