War veteran, 100, is robbed of his safe containing £3,000 in cash after burglars broke into his house while he was in hospital recovering from a fall

• Len Parry had stayed overnight in hospital for observation when thieves struck 
• The 100-year-old’s safe containing £3,000 and bonds was stolen from his home
• Ex-WWII PoW ‘baffled’ by theft as there is no damage to any doors or windows 

Heartless thieves stole a safe containing thousands of pounds from a 100-year-old war veteran as he recovered from a fall in hospital.

Former RAF flying boats pilot Len Parry had checked into Bradford Royal Infirmary for a small procedure but lost his balance as he was taking his jumper off and banged his head on the ground.

Doctors recommended he stay overnight for observations which is believed to be when the opportunistic thieves struck.

Thieves broke into Len Parry’s home in Skipton, North Yorks, and took a safe containing thousands of pounds and premium bonds

Widower Len, who escaped from the Japanese after being taken prisoner in Singapore during the Second World War, says the incident has left him ‘angry’.

He said: ‘The strange thing is there was no damage to any doors or windows and nothing else had been touched and no sign of a break-in.

‘I hadn’t noticed my safe was missing straight away. It was a couple of days later when I went into the spare room upstairs and the safe had gone.

‘It was a brown enamel digital type about a foot square and was bolted to the floor. I know because I had put it in. Whoever took it would have needed a wrench of some sort to get it out.’

Len, from Skipton, North Yorks, kept about £3,000 in the safe which he used for emergencies and to give to his grandchildren for their birthdays.

War veteran Len Parry had been recovering in Bradford Royal Infirmary when the thieves broke into his home and took the safe

The former RAF flying boats pilot was taken as a prisoner of war, but managed to escape when the Japanese soldiers got drunk while guarding the captives

He also had bank books and his driving licence inside as well as some premium bonds.

He added: ‘The money’s gone and forgotten now and I’m not frightened of anyone coming back because there is nothing of any real value here. You don’t need valuables when you’re 100.

‘I would like whoever did it to be caught, though. It really upset me for a few days.’

He was born in Burnley, Lancs., and left school at the age of 14 to work as an apprentice gas fitter.

Len was taken prisoner in Singapore during World War Two but managed to flee when Japanese soldiers got drunk while guarding the captives. 

After being demobbed in June 1946, he returned to being a gas fitter.

He moved to Skipton in 1950 to marry his beloved wife Muriel and the couple had three children – Nigel, Rosamund and Nicholas.

North Yorkshire Police launched an appeal for information about suspicious activity in Long Meadow, Skipton.

A force spokesman said: ‘Officers are appealing for information about any unusual activity seen in the area between these dates, especially on February 4 and 5.

‘Also if anyone has found, or knows the whereabouts of, a small brown coloured digital safe around a cubic foot in size.’

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