INVESTIGATIONS are being carried out after door handles were “tried” at a retirement housing complex.

Police are looking into a number of incidents at The Butts after the manager of the Bield development highlighted reports of people trying door handles and hanging about in the area.

Police Constable Lynn Black, Haddington community ward officer, raised the issue at a Haddington and Lammermuir Community and Police Partnership meeting.

She said: “[The development is] obviously quite secluded at the back and they have got good CCTV.

“I’ve done security talks at the complex before to make them aware of things they should be aware of, like not answering their door to people they don’t know. I would like to give that a bit of attention.”

Vehicles can only access The Butts from Langriggs, off Haddington’s Sidegate.

But there are a number of pedestrian accesses, including from Neilson Park and the town’s High Street, as well as taking the same route as vehicles.

PC Black added that there were “a lot of dark nooks and crannies and I would not like to think anyone was targeting that area”.

During the meeting, the officer stressed to members she was unsure if there was a criminal element to what had been going on or whether it was simply a false alarm.

She said it could be a case of someone who had been drinking and gone to the wrong house but she wanted to try to clarify what had happened.

The officer added: “We will give it attention over the next wee while and hopefully we get no more reports.

“The residents are rightly concerned about it and it is upsetting when that happens.”

A spokesman for Bield told the Courier: “We have passed on everything we know to the police and will continue to work and support them in their inquiries.”

PC Black will report back to members at the next CAPP meeting, which takes place on Monday in Haddington Town House, at 6.30pm.