A HALLIWELL man has spoken out after a thief asked to use his toilet before stealing money from his flat.

The 66-year-old, who lives on Chorley Old Road but asked to remain anonymous, said he wanted to warn other people about the incident so that it would not happen again.

He had been at a convenience store close to his home, when he was approached by a woman in her late 20s, who had been outside the shop and "looked lost", she told him that she needed the bathroom but had nowhere else to go.

After being let into the house, the woman went upstairs into the man's bedroom and stole a quantity of money from his bedside.

He explained: "I had gone to the shop and she was wandering around, she asked if she could use my toilet and I said yes. But when she went to use it she went into my bedroom and took some money.

"My bank cards were there as well but I think she didn't take them because she would have needed my pin number to use them.

"After she left I went to use the toilet and then I went to my bedroom and saw that my cards had been moved, luckily I found them but she had taken the money away."

The woman was in the flat for around five minutes and is described as "slim, around 5ft 9in tall, with shoulder-length brown hair".