A MAN has been charged with burglary after an elderly couple were allegedly conned out of their £40,000 life savings.

As reported in the Daily Echo, the couple, who live in Pinehurst Road, West Moors, told police they were the victims of a distraction burglary.

During the alleged incident, three men claiming to represent a company called Kennedy Water were said to have visited the home on the afternoon of Monday, February 5.

It was later discovered 98 sovereign coins and six kilograms of silver with a total value of around £40,000 had been taken, it is alleged.

Clifford Whitaker, of Abbey Road in St Johns Wood, has now appeared before magistrates in Poole charged with burglary.

He was remanded into custody and will next appear before a judge at Bournemouth Crown Court on April 26. Whitaker, 36, has not yet entered a plea to the charge.

The complainants, who are aged 63 and 85. told the Echo: "We've been collecting for more than five years.

"As we got a little bit of money at one time we would decide to buy a coin.

"We collected them as an investment and it was something we enjoyed."