HELP the Aged was saddened to read the recent report concerning the two bogus water company officials who stole property from an 87-year-old lady in Radcliffe.

Unfortunately, many of our older population feel such an incident is inevitable, and this is unacceptable by any standard.

Help the Aged currently provides its SeniorLink Immediate Response Service to over 7,400 older people across the country. SeniorLink from Help the Aged is an immediate response service, designed to bring peace of mind to older people, helping them to continue to lead an independent life in their own home.

By pressing a button on the base unit or neck pendant, the client is immediately connected to the SeniorLink response centre, which operates 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year, to answer any need. Clients can contact the centre if they require emergency assistance, are in need of reassurance, or if they simply want a chat, any time, day or night.

SeniorLink can be purchased or rented and there are also a number of free units available to people meeting certain criteria. A monitoring and maintenance fee of £1.50 per week applies for all unit holders.

When dealing with an unexpected visitor, Help the Aged urges older people to always put the door chain on and look out of the window to see who is calling before opening the door. SeniorLink clients can also use their neck pendant to contact a SeniorLink operator, who will offer the older person support and summon the police if they become suspicious of a caller's motives or if the person suspects an intruder has entered their home. If anyone is interested in finding out more, or applying for SeniorLink, may I invite them to call 01255 473 999 for an application pack.

Lysa Ralph

National Senior

Safety Manager

Help the Aged

207-221 Pentonville Road

London N1 9UZ

Tel: 020 7239 7591