WHEN it comes to crimes there is nothing that shocks communities to the core more than those committed against pensioners.

Thugs who target vulnerable pensioners are among the most reviled.

Today the Daily Echo joins forces with Hampshire police and pensioners' groups to make our society safer for our OAPs.

Since the turn of the year as many as 30 pensioners have been left traumatised after being robbed in their homes.

Now, in the On Your Guard campaign, we aim to cut the number of crimes against elderly people by highlighting how they can protect themselves.

We also aim to show how friends, neighbours and relatives can play their part in cutting crime against OAPs.

Hampshire's most senior detective, Chief Supt Ray Webb, said: "We totally support this campaign to make people more vigilant.

"We are particularly concerned about crimes against the elderly and it is part of our safer homes campaign that we encourage elderly residents to be aware of callers and to check their identities."

In the latest attack, reported in the Daily Echo on Thursday, three men held down a 92-year-old woman while they stole her money.

The robbers had managed to get into the house in Bishop's Waltham through an open door.

In a separate incident just two miles away in Shedfield, a 75-year-old disabled woman was in her kitchen when two men got into her home.

She was knocked to the floor when the burglars pushed past her.

Police are hunting for three men in connection with the string of raids at the homes of elderly and vulnerable people across the region, in Southamp-ton, Winchester, Fair Oak, Botley, Basingstoke and Gosport.

They believe the same gang is responsible for both raids and have not ruled out a link between all of the raids on pensioners, including one in Gosport last week in which a woman grabbed a broom and chased three men out of her home.

Eighty-four-year-old Rosemary Gibaud had been watching television at her home in Elson when she discovered the three men in her home, going through her possessions.

It is thought the gang, which has netted hundreds of pounds in cash plus jewellery, has also posed as bogus officials.

In Winchester a man called at the home of a 74-year-old, claiming to be a council worker who had accidentally broken a gate latch, and an hour later a 75-year-old woman opened the door nearby to a bogus water official. She let him in and later discovered money missing from her home.

Help the Aged and Age Concern have published leaflets on crime prevention for the elderly, covering advice on home security and how to handle doorstep callers.

Sandra Smith, chief officer of Age Concern Southampton, said: "There have been a number of vicious and cowardly attacks on very vulnerable older people recently.

"I am delighted to support the Daily Echo's On Your Guard campaign.

"People do not need to be unduly frightened about crime but we do need to be aware and sometimes a few simple precautions are all that is needed to keep yourself and your home safe.

"Most burglars are opportunists and they will look for unlocked doors or open windows to get in.

"Many older people remember the days when people left their front door open - sadly those days are gone and we all need to be more careful."

Rosemary Chapman, senior safety development manager for Help the Aged South East, said: "Help the Aged welcomes the Daily Echo's campaign to inform older people in the community the facts about crime so they can take common sense precautions to protect their homes and prevent them becoming the victims of crime.

"Help the Aged takes great effort to empower older people with information so they can make judgements about their personal and home safety based on facts not fear.

"Older people are the group least at risk of crime, but the impact of being a victim of crime can be greater than for a younger person, so the charity is sure the Daily Echo campaign will enable older readers and their friends and family to take the precautions that are needed but still remain active members of their community."