Angina sufferer Arthur Crawford, of Hall Hill Road, was returning from a shopping trip on his bike on Saturday morning when he realised his bag had gone.


Two youths told him it had been dumped in a dyke.


Mr Crawford recovered the bag and some of the shopping – but his purse had gone. It contained £50 he had drawn out to send to sufferers of the Chinese earthquake.


The pensioner put it down to the latest in a series of clashes between youths and residents in Hall Hill Road.


But two hours later Mr Crawford looked out of his home to see the youth he suspected of stealing the purse.

Terrified, he went to check his back door and found it had been tampered with.


He said: "I looked at the back door and saw that the handle had broken off. I went outside and the next minute a can of beans was thrown at me – it went all down my coat and was a terrible mess."


Eggs were also thrown over the top of his property into his back garden.


Mr Crawford, a former Sunday School teacher and joiner, said he has grown increasingly concerned at the behaviour of youngsters on the patch of land outside his bungalow.


Parish councillor Carol Rudkin, who lives in the road, said: "The situation is reaching breaking point. I have had a 75-year-old lady come round my house crying because she has had enough.


"Somebody has got to do something before one of these poor old people has a heart attack and dies."


Police arrested one person who has since been released on bail, but said local youths may not necessarily be involved.


Witnesses are asked to contact Pc Mike Farrar at Holbeach Police Station by calling 01522 532222.