AN 83-year-old man says thieves who conned their way into his home before stealing his money are the lowest of the low.

Trevor Fry's wife has Parkinson's disease and was in hospital when the burglars struck and he says she would have been devastated if she had been at home.

The pair called at the former railway worker's home in Cornwall Avenue, Rodbourne, just before 3pm on Tuesday.

One man pretended to be from the water board and when Mr Fry asked for ID he barged his way in.

The two men were then seen walking away having taken a large jar of coins.

Mr Fry said: "The whole thing didn't take any more than eight or nine minutes.

"It's a good job my wife wasn't here, she'd have been very upset.

"More than anything I really feel like I could kick myself for being such a dumb idiot.

"If they came back I would tell them to clear off, only not so politely."

And Mr Fry, who was the fourth generation in his family to work on the railways, said: "These people are the lowest of the low. They probably don't work.

"I wouldn't like to describe what I think of them."

But Mr Fry, whose wife Muriel, 77, is coming home from hospital next week, is determined not to let the crooks get him down.

"I won't let it upset me," he said.

"I'm all right. The police said some people really take it to heart but I don't worry."

Mr Fry's son David, 39, arrived at the house minutes after the thieves left and he is angry over what happened.

"You feel absolute blind rage," he said.

"If I'd have been around a few minutes before I'd have walked straight into them.

"I arrived just as the police were getting here and I didn't know what was going on.

"It was total panic. I was just frustrated I wasn't here at the time. They wouldn't have brushed past me.

"My mum is very frail and I'm glad she wasn't here. It would really worry her."

Since the theft the police have fitted a chain and a spy-hole to Mr Fry's front door.

And he had a message for other members of the public.

"You want to be on your guard," he said.

"Especially older people. Older people are more trusting and it doesn't enter their heads that it's a con until it's been done."

The Bobby Van is a police service which can elderly or vulnerable people can call on to make their homes more secure.

Officers can fit extra locks, spy-holes and give security advice.

Any witnesses to the incident in Rodbourne, or anyone wanting more information about security, can call Swindon police on 0845 408 7000.