A PENSIONER has spoken of her fright when a wouldbe intruder tried the handle of her front door as she sat at home.

The incident at a maisonette in Eversley Close, Malvern, was the second attempt to break into the same house in just a few hours. The woman, aged 67, who does not want to be named, said: “It was quite unnerving to hear the door handle go like that, and I think I’d have been quite a bit more frightened if I was living on my own.

“I couldn’t sleep properly that night and I checked that everything was locked up.

It’s strange someone coming back again if he was spotted in the morning.”

A man was seen by a neighbour trying to get into a window earlier that day, while the woman and her husband, aged 72, were out shopping. When we came back she said that somebody had been trying to get in but ran away,” said the woman.

“Later on I was sitting with my husband and a friend, and we heard the front-door handle being rattled up and down. My friend went to the door and looked out, and she saw him hiding behind a bush. He then ran away down the alley and my friend got a look at him, and she was able to tell police.

“The police said they’ll be talking to Elgar Housing about getting better lighting, because it’s all old people round here.”

The incidents happened on Monday and police are now looking for witnesses to help their investigations.

At 11am the woman’s neighbour saw a small window had been left open. She went into the backyard and saw a man in dark clothes, standing on a ladder. The man saw the neighbour, hid his face with his jacket and ran off. The second incident was at about 5.10pm. The man is described as white, 5ft 9ins tall with dark hair and stubble and of medium build.

Anyone who recognises the description should call police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111, quoting incident 0486s 021213.

From April 1 to December 1 this year, there were 57 domestic burglaries in the Malvern Hills area. This is a drop of 40 per cent in the same period last year, when there were 95.