CATCH these thieves before a life is destroyed.

That is the plea from an elderly people's charity as detectives step up their hunt for the raiders who are targeting elderly women in their own Hampshire homes.

Two more pensioners have fallen victim to the intruders, bringing the number of cases under investigation to 30 across the county.

Police have not ruled out a link between all the crimes except a series of raids in the Eastleigh and Chandler's Ford area, which they believe are the work of a separate gang.

After the latest attack, police say they are looking for a man with an Irish accent who was among three men who, in separate attacks minutes apart, knocked a 75-year-old disabled woman to the ground and left a 92-year-old pensioner distraught after pinning her down while they stole money.

The 75-year-old from Shedfield was left bleeding from a blow to the head after two men burst into her bungalow. As reported in later editons of yesterday's Daily Echo the elderly woman had been at work in her kitchen when two men in their 20s barged into her bungalow and pushed past her, causing her to topple to the floor.

The woman, who challenged the raiders before they left empty-handed, said: "It's horrid having that happen in your home. It really was most unpleasant.

''They just walked in. I'm dodgy on my legs, but they just pushed past me.

"I told myself to keep calm and I think I was very lucky as they didn't get very far."

The attack on the 92-year-old occured two miles away in Bishop's Waltham. The gang had let themselves into the woman's home, before searching the property.

Police believe the same gang are responsible for both raids. Officers have not ruled out a link between all the raids on pensioners but say a series of crimes against OAPs in the Eastleigh area may be the result of a separate gang

Last week 84-year-old Rosemary Gibaud grabbed a broom and chased three men out of her Gosport home.

In other raids, one elderly woman suffered a fractured wrist when she was thrown to the floor by two men found ransacking her home in Chandler's Ford.

In Winchester, a man posing as a council worker stole cash after getting into the home of a pensioner in Stanmore.

And a 90-year-old Eastleigh pensioner was left distraught after burglars took £500 from her warden-controlled home.

A spokesman for Age Concern said: "These horrific crimes highlight the devastating impact that crime has on older people.''

Anyone with information should call Hampshire police on 0845 045 4545 or the anonymous Crimestoppers line on 0800 555111.