A BURGLAR brandishing a knife, forced his way into a house in Greenstead, before making off with £60 and a mobile phone.

The suspect knocked at the house, in Almond Way, before pulling out a knife and forcing his way in when the 51-yearold homeowner answered the door.

He grabbed a mobile phone and £60 in cash, before leaving.

The suspect is described as awhite man, about 6ft 4ins tall and of strong build.

He had short black hair and amoustache, and was wearing a black leather jacket and blue jeans.

Almond Way residents were horrified to hear about the incident.

One elderly woman, who asked not to be named, said: “It scares you whenever anything like this happens so close to home.

“I have been burgled twice here, so I knowwhat it’s like.

“I had chains put on the door after that, because you can never be too careful.

“Normally this is a lovely quiet road, but you do get the occasional incident.

“I think a lot of them are drugs related.”

Another resident said: “This is usually a nice quiet road, but I always keep the chain on.

“I’m paranoid enough without hearing about things like this nearby.

“It’s horrible to even think about someone awful enough to do that, and in the daytime.

“There are some evil people around.”

One man said he would tell his dad not to answer the door any more. He added: “I think they often target the vulnerable people round here. It’s horrible.”

Anyone with information about the incident, on Saturday May 16, between 3.30pm and 3.45pm, should call Det Con Danielle Markoutsis at Colchester CID on 101, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.