THERE has been a spate of what are known as distraction burglaries across North Yorkshire. They have two things in common: they are committed by men preying on emotions, and the victims are often elderly.

Some bogus callers try to palm themselves off as tradesmen offering to repair things that are hard to check, such as roof tiles and guttering. Others pretend to be gold or jewellery buyers. All use their story to convince home owners to let them in, before setting about the job they really came to do: stealing valuables.

We are constantly advised to ask for and check IDs, but these thieves are persuasive and when someone tells you they are from the gas board and need to check for leaks, vigilance can go out of the window.

So today we report some examples of the more common scams to look out for and behind each story is a personal tragedy. It's not only loss of property; these crimes are about invading homes and they leave scars that can sometimes never heal.

Take the 82-year-old woman who woke up to find a burglar in her bedroom rifling through her belongings by the light of a torch. She told police the incident made her decide to move out of her home of almost 40 years into sheltered accommodation.

This is the real cost and we all have a responsibility to keep an eye out for elderly neighbours and relatives, before they also become victims of doorstep crime.