MORE than £1,000 has been raised for an elderly Stroud man after thieves stole his savings.

Thieves stole more than £1,500 from his home in Horns Road.

The man’s property was broken into while he was out of the house sometime between 10am and 4pm on Friday, June 19.

Anne Garcin, who lives near the victim, helped to organise a Facebook fundraiser for him.

She said: “The house was turned upside down leaving him in shock and feeling extremely vulnerable. A man was spotted around 1pm walking up then down our alleyway wearing black clothes and a grey bucket hat.”

The fundraiser, which has now ended, resulted in £1,030 being raised for the victim.

One resident donated £500 to the online appeal, and a donation box was also set up at the Crown and Sceptre pub.

Ms Garcin added: “The fundraiser was a shout out to the community to be cautious, but also it's wonderful to know that we can still count on the kindness and generosity of people even in these weird times."

Nicky Ferry and her daughter Bella, 10, who also live near the victim, have spoken to the police about a suspicious man they saw on Friday.

Bella said: “He was wearing black trousers, a black raincoat, a sun hat with flaps on and was covering his face. I’ve never seen him before and something didn’t feel right.

“So I ran back up the path and as soon as he saw me he ran back down.”

Ms Ferry said: “It’s been so upsetting for him, because he has lived here for 50 years and nothing like this has ever happened and his house is totally trashed.

“But although something awful has happened hopefully the fundraiser was able to restore his faith that there are a lot of people who care and support him.”

A spokeswoman for Gloucestershire police said: “We are investigating a burglary which was reported to us on Friday and is believed to have occurred between 10am and 4pm that day.

“Offenders forced their way into a property in Horns Road and after an untidy search stole a quantity of cash.

“House to house enquiries have been conducted but the offenders have not yet been identified.”

Call 101 quoting incident 277 of June 19.