GLOUCESTERSHIRE Police are warning householders to check the credentials of callers claiming to be water board officials after a Drybrook woman in her 80s was the victim of as doorstep scam.

The woman, who lives in Morse Lane, answered to door at lunchtime last Wednesday, May 31 to a man who claimed to be from the water board and needed to check the water pressure.

He told the homeowner that he needed to check the water quickly as somebody had been injured in a water main blast further down the road.

When he was challenged over his ID he said that it was in the van, but he didn’t have the time to get it as he needed to release the pressure in the house urgently.

He then spent a while getting the woman to carry out meaningless tasks while his ’co-worker’ ransacked the house.

A police spokesman said: “The offender instructed the vulnerable victim to empty contents from under her kitchen and bathroom sink so he could access the pipes.

“While they were both in the bathroom with the door closed behind them, it is believed a second offender entered the premises.

“A substantial amount of money, believed to be thousands of pounds which was stored in a number of purses, was stolen from the property and the victim has been left very shaken up by the ordeal.

“The man spoke in a strong Irish accent and is described as white, aged in his 30s, 5ft 6ins in height, of medium build and clean shaven.

“He was wearing a beige or light grey baseball cap with ’Formula 1’ printed on the front, with a red and white checked shirt and possibly shorts.

“It is believed the man was seen leaving the premises in a white 15 plate Volkswagen, which could have been a Golf with a twin exhaust.”

Anyone who saw anything suspicious should contact 101 and quote incident number 263 of 1 June.