Inquiry after two callers hit on elderly (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Inquiry after two callers hit on elderly

Wootton Bassett police are investigating after two incidents involving bogus callers preying on elderly people in Lyneham and Wootton Bassett this week.

The first incident occurred at 8.30pm on March 24, when a bogus caller stole money from an 87-year-old woman in Keates Close, Wootton Bassett.

The police are now keen to trace a man driving a white Transit van who has been offering his services for garden work.

He is described as white, around 5ft 8in and 5ft 10in tall, of stocky and muscular build with a crew-cut style hair cut and of scruffy appearance.

The man also has a distinctive Cockney accent.

In a second incident at Pound Close, Lyneham, a man claiming to sell cleaning equipment called on a 78-year-old woman. No description of the second caller was available.

Wootton Bassett community sergeant Andy Fortune would not rule out whether both incidents were connected.

He said: "We are keen to hear any information about these two crimes. The offender picked on elderly females and in this case one of them was suffering from Alzeimer's disease.

"These are very callous crimes and I urge elderly people not to let in people without an appointment."

If anyone has any information on either of these crimes they can call Wootton Bassett Police on (01793) 852213 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.