MEN claiming to be from the water board tricked their way into the homes of four elderly people.

A woman in Aldbourne had £400 stolen after a man claiming to be from the water board asked her to turn on all her taps upstairs. The man searched the ground floor while she was distracted.

A man called on a 78-year-old woman in Dores Court, Stratton, saying he needed access to her home because the flat upstairs was flooding. Two other men entered the house while the woman was distracted and stole £40.

Another elderly woman was targeted in Wroughton, along with a man in Stratton. The victims are so distressed that police do not yet know if anything has been stolen.