AN ELDERLY man was the victim of a distraction burglary where £900 was taken from him.

At about 2.15pm on Tuesday, February 28 a man was at his home in Springfield Avenue, Banbury when a man knocked on his front door.

He told him he was working on a neighbour's house and noticed his roof cap stones were damaged, causing damp in the loft space.

The victim paid him £600 to complete the work and he was instructed by the burglar to open the loft hatch to allow it to dry out before commencing work.

As the victim came back downstairs the burglar had disappeared and took with him a further £300 cash from his dining room.

The man was driving a white Transit van and is described as white, in his 30s, around 6ft tall with an English accent.

He was clean-shaven with a round face wearing a light green beanie hat, a navy blue anorak and was carrying a bound book containing roofing information.

Investigating officer DC Richard Lewis, based at Banbury police station, said: “We are conducting a full investigation into this incident and would like to speak to anyone who may have seen or heard anything suspicious in this area at this time."