THREE men barged into a house and threatened the elderly occupant in a case of mistaken identity.

The aggravated burglary in Phillimore Place, Radlett, happened last Thursday (June 2) between 8.10pm and 8.30pm and police are hoping that members of the public will come forward with more information.

The victim heard a noise at his back door so asked who was there and, when he heard no answer, went to open the door. Three men then entered the property and threatened him, grabbing his wrist.

But after searching his house, they realised that he was not the person they were looking for and that they were in the wrong house, so left. The victim was unharmed in the incident but it did leave him extremely distressed.

Detective constable Rob Wood said: “This appears to be a case of mistaken identity and, while the elderly man was unharmed, he has been left very shaken by this ordeal.

“I would like to encourage anyone who saw these men either before or after the incident, or know who they might be looking for, to get in touch. We would like to track them down before they cause any distress or harm to anyone else.

“I would also like to reassure people that this appears to be an isolated incident and incidents of this kind are very uncommon in the Radlett area.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact police via the non-emergency number on 0845 33 00 222 or, alternatively, call Crimestoppers, the independent charity, on 0800 555 111.