Six-year-old twins’ holiday money was stolen along with valuables worth £1,500 after scammers tricked their way past their disabled grandmother to burgle the family home.

Hairdresser Nic Davis’s mother Constance was at home in Tregaron Avenue, Crouch End, when she answered the door to a man claiming to be a builder working on the house next door.

The man, described as 5ft 6ins tall, white, in his late 40s, with an accent and wearing a navy coloured jacket and trousers, told Ms Davis a water pipe had been damaged and he needed to check her house wasn’t affected.

Before she could respond, the intruder pushed past the 77-year-old who followed him into the living room where he had quickly squirted water on the ceiling.

The scammer then asked her to flush the toilet and turn on the taps several times.

During this time a second person entered unnoticed through the open door.

Ten minutes later the intruder left, but it wasn’t until Ms Davis – who suffers from arthritis – went upstairs to collect the washing that she saw the bedrooms had been ransacked.

The valuables taken included money Mr Davis’s 6-year-old twin daughters Eleni and Freya had been saving for a family holiday to Limassol in Cyprus, their first foreign holiday in five years.

A treasure chest of £150 worth of pound coins Mr Davis had been collecting for his children was also taken along with vintage watches he planned to give his daughters on their 21st birthdays.

Mr Davis, 44, said: “Mum feels very stupid for being duped, but she’s okay. If someone says there’s water running into your house you panic.”

Since the burglary last Friday the family are now planning to install CCTV with Mr Davis fearful of further burglaries.

“It leaves me feeling nervous for my mum. It’s the first time something like this has happened.

“We feel like prisoners in our own home. We make sure all the doors are locked,” Mr Davis said.

Mr Davis commended officers for visiting twice to reassure his mother, but warned others to be on their guard over what police explained was “a very old scam”.

“The most important thing is not to panic. Shut the door and don’t let anyone in without checking,” Mr Davis advised.

A met spokesman confirmed police are investigating, no arrests have been made and enquiries are ongoing.

Anyone with information or any witnesses are urged to call police on 101 or by tweeting @MetCC. To give information anonymously, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.