Crime | Posted on February 27th, 2026 | return to news

Ringwood burglar to spend six years in prison

Thomas Harold Coker of Ringwood targeted the homes of elderly women in Bournemouth for his crimes.

A Ringwood man has been sentenced to six years in prison for targeting elderly women in a series of burglaries across Bournemouth.

33-year-old Thomas Harold Coker committed three burglaries in late 2024, tricking elderly women to let him into their homes before stealing their belongings.

On Thursday 21 November 2024, Coker knocked on the door of a bungalow in the Kinson area and stepped inside the property without permission. He told the victim that he could fix her guttering and then asked for a drink.

As the victim went to the kitchen, he entered the bedroom stole a handbag containing bank cards, which were later used to make fraudulent transactions.

A few days later, Monday 25 November 2024, Coker spoke to the owner of another address in the Kinson area and told her that he painted her fence a few years ago and it needed doing again.

He went inside the property and after he left, the victim noticed her purse was missing. Her bank card was used a short time later to make fraudulent transactions.

A third incident occurred in Kinson on Monday 23 December 2024. Coker knocked on the door of an address and told the resident that his child had lost his football and believed it had gone into their garden. When the man left the property, the victim noticed that her purse containing bank cards had been stolen.

Following an investigation by the Neighbourhood Crime Team, Coker of Ringwood was arrested and charged. He pleaded guilty to three counts of burglary and two counts of fraud by false representation and was sentenced at Bournemouth Crown Court on Friday 13 February 2026 to six years in prison.

Police Constable Ted Carlton, of the Neighbourhood Crime Team, said: “Coker targeted vulnerable elderly women and distracted them in order to steal their bank cards from inside their home.

“This terrible behaviour makes victims feel unsafe in their own properties and is absolutely unacceptable.

“I am pleased that through our investigation, we were able to identify Coker as the person responsible and hold him to account for his actions.”

If you wish to report a crime, visit the Dorset Police website: https://www.dorset.police.uk.