AN elderly woman confronted a burglar in her Marlborough home yesterday (November 25), prompting a police appeal.

At around 7.15pm, a pensioner was in bed at her home in Homefields, when she heard a bang and then noticed a man at her bedroom door.

She questioned the intruder, who then apologised and then ran down the stairs and out of the property, damaging the front door in the process.

The man is described as slim, of average height, and aged in his 20's or 30's

Earlier that day, at around 12pm, a man had called at the same house stating that she had a loose roof tile. The elderly woman said that she had already arranged for it to be fixed and the man left. He is believe to have been driving a lorry which had a low bed with a ladder on top.

PC Teresa Herbert, community coordinator for Wiltshire East, said: "We are in the very early stages of the investigation and we are keeping an open mind as to whether or not these two incidents are linked.

"This was understandably a very frightening experience for this elderly woman who has been left extremely shaken up as a result.

"We would like to reassure the local community that we take reports of this nature extremely seriously and understand that news of crimes like this can be frightening to our elderly community.

"We are carrying out a thorough investigation including house-to-house enquiries and we will be analysing all CCTV footage from the vicinity that is available to us.

"We are keen to hear from anyone who saw or heard any suspicious activity in the area of Homefields yesterday evening between 6.30pm and 7.30pm. Did you notice any suspicious vehicles or people you do not recognise? Please call 101 with any information, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem."