Arrests made over incident involving wannabe burglar claiming to look for lost cat after targeting homes in Portsmouth and Havant

Police said they had hooked two suspects following two suspected distraction burglaries in Havant and one burglary in Portsmouth in which £300 was stolen.

A 32-year-old man from Bristol and a 31-year-old woman from Slough have been arrested on suspicion of burglary and have been bailed with conditions until May 26 and 27 respectively while enquiries continue.

It comes after an incident at 1.15pm on Tuesday April 26 in which a woman knocked on the door of a home in Eastleigh Road, Havant, and told the occupants, a man and a woman in their 80s, that she was looking for her cat.

‘She encouraged the occupants to leave the property and enter the garden in an attempt to help her while a man entered the house and attempted to steal items from inside,’ said the spokeswoman.

‘We received a second report that on the same day between 1pm and 2pm a woman had knocked on the door of an address on Hallett Road and told the occupant, a lady in her 70s, that she was looking for her cat.’

Police say nothing was taken on either occasion – but that a similar incident was reported on the same day in Portsmouth.

Between 10.30am and 10.45am, a woman knocked on the door of an address on Bucklers Court and told the occupant, a woman in her 70s, that she had lost her cat and asked if she could look in her garden.

The occupant of the address allowed the lady to look for the cat in her garden and noticed on Wednesday that about £300 in cash and some high value jewellery had been taken from inside her address.

Officers think the incidents are linked.

‘Officers are currently investigating all three incidents and are conducting enquiries to identify those responsible. We believe that the incidents may be linked at the current time,’ a spokesman said.

Anyone with any information that may help police is asked to call 101 quoting 44220162902.

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