When the 81 year old was unable to turn on her boiler on Wednesday morning she assumed it had broken down.

However, when her installer said they could not come out for several days, despite her warranty promising an immediate call-out service, she contacted Filey plumbers Bodens. “I was freezing and I wasn’t prepared to wait that long,” she said.

But the local firm did not let her down – and she was astonished to discover what had really happened.

“They were wonderful,” she said. “They came round straight away and told me my gas meter had been stolen.”

Like many others hers was inside a locked box at the front of her home which the thieves had broken into.

“The engineer who came round said it was very easy to take away and the box should be inside a cage.

“Apparently it’s a common scam so they can use my meter for their gas and it will go on my bill.”

She said as soon as she realised she reported the theft to the police and her gas company.

“I just want to make people aware that this can happen so it doesn’t happen to them too,” she said.