Three burglars robbed and ransacked a 90-year-old grandmother's house after duping her into thinking she had a problem with her garden.

The pensioner, from Ullathorne Road, Tooting, was targeted by the thieves, who made off with a large amount of cash and a number of treasured jewellery pieces, on Wednesday, July 11.

Following the burglary, the victim's grandson decided to warn fellow residents and posted a message on the chat room page of the Furzedown Community Network, The victim was alone at the house when the doorbell rang just after 3.15pm, but by the time she got downstairs, a man dressed in a suit was already standing in her hall.

The grandson said: "He (the burglar) immediately took hold of her arm and led her straight into the back garden on the pretence of a 'big problem'.

"She was panicked and confused and asked the man to leave but he insisted that he had been sent to fix a problem in the back garden. "Meanwhile, two men entered the house and ransacked the upstairs bedrooms and escaped with a sizeable amount of money and jewellery."

All three thieves were described as white, clean shaven and were smartly dressed in suits.