POLICE are appealing for help after two fraudsters duped an elderly man from Calne into believing their sob story hoax before stealing his laptop.

Late on Wednesday evening, April 20, a man and woman knocked at the door of an elderly man, of Springfield Drive, and told him they had received some bad news from relatives in Australia.

The couple appeared distressed and said they did not want to go into details but needed to use a computer to transfer some money across to Australia.

They said they had travelled down from the north and as the occupant saw that the woman appeared very upset allowed them to use a laptop in an upstairs bedroom.

The victim then went downstairs and the couple followed a short while after, thanked him for the use of his laptop and left.

The occupant did not see them leave as he was sat in the living room but later went upstairs and saw that his laptop had been taken.

The man is described as white, aged in his late 20s to 30s, of slim to medium build with cropped hair. He was wearing light blue denim jeans, a blue long sleeved top and beige lightweight gloves.

The woman is described as white, approximately 25 years old, 5ft 5 inches tall and of slim build. She had dark, shoulder length hair. She was wearing light blue jeans which were ripped at the knees. It is believed they left in a white car.

PC Joe Sadd said: "This incident has understandably been very upsetting for the victim who has been left shaken up as a result.

"We would like to hear from anyone who may have seen the couple in the area of Springfield Drive, or heard any suspicious activity around the area during the evening of 20 April.

“Any information, no matter how small, may be significant in our investigation."