Burgled elderly often die within two years of event

ELDERLY people who have been burgled are twice as likely to die within two years because of related trauma, a report has revealed.

The research was carried out on 109 elderly people who lived in a sheltered community in Flintshire, North Wales.

Of the 56 people who had been burgled, 11 had died 30 months after the incident and a further nine had gone into residential care. This was almost twice as high as the remaining 53 people who had not been burgled. Six of this group died in the same period and two went into care.

The report said the burglaries also affected the emotional state of the older people. “Victims in some cases were described as becoming ‘very twitchy’ and more nervous,” says the report. “Changes in behaviour were also observed. The victim either became housebound after the incident, or spent more time with family and avoided returning to their accommodation.”

Support groups dealing with the elderly here said they had also encountered similar cases.

“I have dealt with an elderly woman who had lived all her life in an area. She was burgled twice and after the second incident, she said to me, ‘They have taken the good out of my life.’ She died two years later, ” Victim Support spokeswoman Ann Mead said.