Residents including an 84-year-old woman have been left without gas and hot water after copper pipe thieves struck at four properties.

Gas distribution company SGN said homes in Grove Road on Portland were targeted and Dorset Police have launched an investigation.

Metal thefts have soared in recent years as the price of scrap metal has reached an all-time high, with lead and copper among the biggest targets.

One of the residents affected is Ann Humes who discovered thieves stole the copper gas pipes off her property wall during the night.

The family now have to pay 'hundreds of pounds' to replace the gas pipes that were stolen and also plan on boxing them in, in the hopes that they won't get stolen again.

They want to raise awareness of the crime so residents are on guard.

Mrs Humes' daughter-in-law Janet Fox said: "Ann phoned and said she couldn't get any gas in her house.

"She had no hot water either, so we went up there to find out that all the external pipe work had been taken and all the gas boxes had been opened and the gas switched off."

She added: "Ann lives alone as her partner died three months ago which makes it all a little bit worse because he dealt with everything so she's in a bit of a pickle.

"She is still living without gas. Luckily, it's warm. If it had been the middle of winter, she would have been stuck as it's been well over 48 hours without gas.

"We are trying to make things easier for her by encouraging her to use the microwave and oven as that's electric and she can wash her dishes using hot water from the kettle."

"SGN had to cap both metres as there could still have been a leakage of gas and we have now got to find an independent gas man to fit new pipes at our own expense."

Waseem Hanif, a spokesperson for gas distribution company SGN said: "We were called to four properties in Grove Road on Portland in our capacity as the gas emergency service in the area. Our gas network was unaffected, but the outlet pipe for each property had been stolen.

"We made safe and disconnected the affected properties from our network."

Dorset Police confirmed they received a report about the the theft of copper gas pipes in Grove Road on Portland.

"Enquiries into the matter are ongoing and no arrests have been made," a force spokesperson said.