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Man appears in court over robbing 88-year-old-wheelchair-bound UK veteran

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A man is appearing in court today (September 6) charged with the burglary of an elderly man's home in Leeds.

West Yorkshire Police released a statement saying: "Tomas Mizikar, aged 24, of Bayswater Mount, Harehills, is due to appear at Leeds Magistrates Court charged with a burglary at the 88-year-old’s address in Harehills on August 27."

The horrifying moment is captured when an 88-year-old wheelchair-bound man, Mr Birch, is robbed for the second time in two months last week (August 27).

"My step-dad is technically of sound mind and can make his own decisions, he is adamant that he wants to stay in his house of 40 years," said his step-son, Paul.

An image shows Birch when he served in the military as part of the British Army's Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers in 1950.

A West Yorkshire Police statement said: "At 6.35pm that day, the victim was asleep in his wheelchair with the front door open due to the warm weather when the property was entered and searched and cash stolen from a wallet.

"When the victim woke up a suspect engaged him in conversation at the front door before being disturbed by passers-by and leaving the scene.

"Tomas Mizikar has been linked to the offence as a result of enquiries and officers are keen to establish his current whereabouts.

"He has previously used the name David and has links to the Harehills area and to Slovakia."

The second burglary comes just weeks after Birch watched as a man entered his home in July and stole money.

West Yorkshire Police said: "The same victim was targeted in similar circumstances on July 10 [seen here] in what is being treated as a separate offence."

In this earlier incident, security cameras capture the moment the brazen thief enters the home of Birch, who was sitting in his wheelchair watching television.

Footage shows the man attempt to speak in a friendly manner to Birch in broken English, while clearly scoping the surrounding area for items of value.

While distracting Birch, the thief picks up his wallet from the counter, quickly rifles through it and walks off with a five-pound note.

The theft happened so quickly that Birch didn't even realise he'd been robbed, according to his stepson, Paul Daley.

The family only suspected something had happened when his carer called to say he'd seen the live video of an unknown man entering the property.

Birch's family then went over to his house to view the footage.

Enquiries are still ongoing to identify the suspect shown in the CCTV images for that offence.

Paul has set up a GoFundMe for his step-dad to stay secure in his home of over 40 years, which is under the name "Help Dennis stay safe in his own home."

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