A PENSIONER has been left counting the cost after police broke into his house and then charged him to replace the lock.

Brian New had been out one evening when he returned home to see torches flashing downstairs.

When he looked at the back door of his home in Greenstead Road, Colchester, he noticed the lock had been broken and found police searching the cupboards.

Police had answered a call from worried neighbours who said they had not seen the 72-year-old in a while and were concerned for his welfare.

Mr New said he tries to get out of the house as much as possible and he said he was mortified to find the officers in his home.

He said they were looking through the expiry dates of his food as they tried to establish if he had been missing and if so for how long.

Mr New said: “I came home at about 9.45pm that evening as I had been at a concert rehearsal. I get involved with all sorts of things and go all over the place.

“When I got home there were torches flashing and my door was broken.

“I told the police I wasn’t very happy, the officers said my neigh - bours were worried about me.

“I don’t need all of this.”

He said police had been looking inside his fridge, commenting on the fact some of the food was out of date.

They also questioned the abundance of cat food in his cupboards, which he said he had got on special offer.

Mr New’s wife Sally, 50, died in April 2015 and he has been living on his own with his two cats ever since.

He said he was shocked neighbours were concerned for him and added his cats Sabrina, 16, and Daisy, 17, have always been fed and looked after.

He said: “I couldn’t believe it, I didn’t authorise it and I told them they had no business looking around my fridge.

“They just told me neighbours had been concerned and that a locksmith would be coming.”

Police did send a locksmith round to change the lock but then Mr New was sent an unexpected bill for £210 to pay for the replacement.

He has refused to pay, claiming he should not be billed for the police officers breaking into his home.

He said: “I was so upset I took up smoking again, “I was so annoyed.

“I said I wasn’t paying it so they sent another bill but again I said I wasn’t going to pay.

“After that I didn’t hear anything for a while.

“I just assumed they had taken care of it.

“I didn’t think anything of it and I have just been getting on with life.”

Just as Mr New thought the dust had settled, he received a phone call chasing up the payment.

He said he would consider taking further action if he is asked to cough up the cash again.

He said: “I just told them again I’m not paying it as I think I have got rights.”

Mr New spends a lot of time out of the house, busying himself by going shopping and meeting friends.

His neighbours believed something may have happened to him, which is why police ended up inside his property.

He said: “I’m hoping I just don’t have to pay as I don’t need it. I am already in need of a new pair of glasses.”

Mr New said he is now having problems with the lock as his key has stopped fitting inside.

He is under the impression only a temporary lock was installed and he will now have to get another one fitted.

Essex Police have been contacted for comment but no-one was available to give a response.