RESIDENTS of a sheltered housing complex faced a weekend of fear after thieves walked in through an unlocked front door and wandered around unchallenged in the middle of the night.

The burglary happened at Elizabeth House in Queens Drive, on Friday night when an electrical fault led to the main security door failing to lock

Two men were caught on CCTV stealing a video recorder from the common room before going upstairs and trying residents' doors.

Jean Rogers, whose 87-year-old mother lives at the complex, said several residents decided they would have to stay awake all night when they were told the broken lock could not be fixed until Monday.

"I am very concerned. I don't want them sitting up all night," she said.

"I normally stay with my mother over the weekend but unfortunately, this weekend I couldn't."

One resident got up in the night after hearing her door rattle but when she opened it no one was there.

"They are frightened to know that two men have walked round the complex without being challenged," said Mrs Rogers.

"My mother is really quite afraid.

"They tried all the doors on the first floor, including hers."

Mrs Rogers said residents were told by the council and Homeline, the council's community telephone alarm system for the elderly and vulnerable, that nothing could be done until Monday, leaving the door effectively unlocked for two days.

Shortly after the Advertiser contacted Homeline on Saturday the council issued a statement saying that they were aware of the problem with the entry system and that a specialist lock company was due there that afternoon.

"Initially it was thought to be an electrical fault so we sent out an electrician to fix it," said spokeswoman Sheila Roberts.

"He discovered it is a fault with the highly sophisticated locking system."

She added that they had also arranged for a security guard to patrol the site at regular intervals.

"As any homeowner will know, locks do go wrong from time to time and we are doing our best to fix it as quickly as possible."

But Mrs Rogers contacted the Advertiser again after the specialists had been to the complex, to say the door was still insecure and again the residents had been told by the council that nothing could be done until yesterday.

"For the council to say they can't do anything until Monday is wrong," she stated.

Mrs Roberts confirmed that the work was eventually completed on Sunday evening.

Tina Clarke