Burglary victim, 77, dies after falling ill while calling police
‘Vulnerable, elderly people feel far less safe than at any time in living memory’
AN ELDERLY woman died after collapsing during a 999 call to report a break-in, as police were accused of repeatedly ignoring warnings of violent gangs operating in the area.
Maureen Whale, 77, who lived alone in Barnet, north London, called police on Tuesday evening after thieves ransacked the house she had lived in all her life.
But she fell ill while on the phone, and died in hospital hours later with her family at her bedside.
Gina Owen, Ms Whale’s niece, told The Daily Telegraph the family was in “total shock”.
The death comes as police struggle to cope with a rising tide of violence on our streets.
Victims’ campaigners said elderly, vulnerable people now feel more unsafe in their homes than at “any time in living memory”.
Last month, Peter Gouldstone, 98, a Second World War veteran, was killed by burglars five miles away in Enfield. They left with his television, said to be worth only £10.
Figures released earlier this year showed two thirds of burglaries are no longer properly investigated.
In the past two years, the number of unsolved domestic burglaries has risen from 47 per cent to 64 per cent – while in some areas nine out of 10 cases are written off without any action.
Murder squad detectives have appealed for information about the gang, captured on CCTV breaking into Ms Whale’s two-storey detached home at around 6pm. Two teenagers on cycles, believed to be acting as lookouts, waited outside her home before three hooded burglars emerged minutes later.
The gang is thought to have broken into three other properties in the area, one of which belonged to Michael Murphy, 55, a mechanic.
He told The Telegraph that police had repeatedly ignored reports of violent criminals targeting the street.
“Another flat up the road was burgled the month before – I saw someone wearing latex gloves walk past the camera stuffing items in his pocket,” he said. “I called the police and told them I had video footage of two suspected burglars but they didn’t come to see it even though they said they would come.
“What can I do? If they haven’t got time to come, they haven’t got time to come.”
Mr Murphy added that a would-be thief later attempted to steal his wife’s handbag as she parked her car in front of their home.
Last night, a neighbour said Mrs Whale was a “frail” and “lovely lady”, who had lived at the small house with pebble-dashed walls all her life.
She never married or had children, and was often seeing walking to and from Waitrose in a white coat and dark glasses.
In recent years, she suffered from breathing problems and rarely answered the door to callers. It is believed the burglars may have thought her house was empty when they broke in.
Last night, bunches of white flowers had been laid outside the home, while uniformed officers stood outside a police cordon. Theresa Villiers, the Barnet MP, earlier this year met Cressida Dick, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, to protest over plans to close the last police station in her constituency.
“Many of my constituents have expressed their concern about burglary,” she said last night.
“I would like to express my sympathy and support for Mrs Whale’s friends and relatives. I very much hope these callous criminals are brought to justice and I urge anyone with information about this case to come forward to the police.”
Harry Fletcher, of the Victims Rights Campaign, said violent gangs were being allowed to operate “with impunity”.
“There are far fewer police on the streets. Vulnerable, elderly people feel far less safe than at any time in living memory,” he said.
Detective Chief Inspector Noel Mchugh, from the Met’s homicide and major crime command, said: “Our focus now is on catching the culprits behind this burglary, which has contributed to the death of an elderly woman.
“We are doing everything we can to build a clear picture of this incident.”