‘Police’ conman takes hundreds of pounds off pensioner

The incident happened on Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Holcombe Road area of Rossendale when a man posing as a police officer visited the elderly victim.

He told the man somebody had been arrested at the back of his property in possession of cash. The victim allowed the conman into his home where he was tricked into handing over a few hundred pounds, with the conman saying another officer would return it later. He then took away the money and made off.

The conman is described as, white, around 5ft. 6in. tall and in his 40s with short cropped fair hair. He was clean shaven and was wearing a dark-coloured suit. He also had a small card that resembled a police warrant card.

Det. Con. Neil Scholes said: “I would appeal to anyone in the area who witnessed any suspicious activity to come forward and contact us.

“This is a dreadful incident where a man has been conned out of money and the person responsible needs to be caught. I would urge anyone with information to get in touch with the police.

“I would also ask residents to be vigilant and only answer the door to people you know and check for photographic identification and if needs be, call the organisation where the visitor is said to be calling from if you are unsure.”

Anyone with information is asked to call Lancashire Constabulary on 0845 1 25 35 45 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.