A thief rifled through a severely disabled Eastbourne woman's belongings in an early-morning burglary and told her: "I need to feed the wife and kids."
The raider repeatedly apologised to his victim, lying awake in her bed, as he scattered her possessions.
The man entered a home for the disabled at The Goffs at 3.15am on Monday before slipping into the ground-floor flat.
He searched the lounge and other rooms before entering her bedroom.
He stole her purse containing about £750 in cash and credit cards. Police appealed for witnesses.
The offender was white, of medium build and wore a dark baseball cap, a Nike sweater and dark trousers.
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