POLICE are hunting a heartless thief who stole more than a thousand pounds of a Kirkham pensioner's savings.

The incident happened at 11.30am on January 30 when a man claiming he was a Housing Association official gained entry into the home of an 89-year-old lady in Station Road. He moved quickly around the house and while she was distracted stole £1,180 in cash.

The man is believed to be responsible for other offences in the area and is described as aged 30-40, 5ft 5ins tall with curly dark hair and wearing a navy boiler suit.

At 10.05am on January 30 a man cashed a giro slip for £295 at the Post Office on Preston Old Road in Freckleton by means of deception. He made off in a Ford Sapphire car, registration G195 YAR, and was described as aged 35 years, 5ft 9ins tall, of stocky build, with thick dark bushy hair short of the collar, a wide jowl face, and wearing a thick dark blue donkey jacket. A woman was badly assaulted on Mere Road, Blackpool, by two girls, while two boys with them stood and watched. It happened at 9.50pm on January 27 and one girl was described as approximately 15 years old, 5ft 7ins tall, slim with blonde hair and very distinctive braces on her top and bottom teeth. The second girl was 5ft 3ins tall and stockily built with brown long scruffy hair. She spoke with a local accent.

A man's attempt to break into an Austin Metro car parked on Raikes Parade, Blackpool, was foiled when he was disturbed by the owner at 9.20pm on January 29. The man was in his early twenties, 6ft tall, with short dark hair and was wearing jeans and a dark sweatshirt

At 3.25pm on February 2 a bogus drainage worker approached an 88- year-old lady at her home in Ashton Road, Blackpool. After initially being refused entry he conned his way in and, despite not finding anything to steal, he demanded cash for the alleged cleaning of drains. He was aged 30-40 years, 5ft 8ins tall, of medium build, with short brown curly hair and wore a white shirt, blue bib and overalls. A man was attacked on Dale Street, Blackpool, on January 25 at 11pm by two robbers wielding a piece of wood.They stole his wallet containing £60 cash. One was aged 17-18 years, 5ft 11ins tall, of medium build and was wearing a black baseball cap and black puffa jacket. He spoke with a local accent. The second was aged 18-19, 6ft tall, of medium build with dark hair and wore a black scarf around his face, a plain grey jumper/sweatshirt, black tracksuit bottoms and black trainers.

At midday on January 31 a man stole a can of deodorant from Boots in Lord Street, Fleetwood. He was 22-23 years old, 5ft 2ins tall, had short dark hair, was gaunt looking and wore a beige jacket with a navy blue stripe down the sleeve.

A 13-year-old boy was robbed at knifepoint by a group of teenagers at 8.30pm on Saturday January 27 in Raikes Parade, Blackpool. They only managed to steal 20 pence. There were five or six males and one female, all approximately 14 years old with the main offender having dark shaved hair, dark eyes and discoloured teeth. He was wearing a green fleece jacket with a high collar, jeans and dark gloves.

If you have any information about these or other crimes then you can call Crimestoppers for free and in confidence on 0800 555 111.