AN ELDERLY man from Stourport was robbed of £6,000 cash on Friday.

At about 2pm on Friday, October 4 the pensioner, who is aged in his 70s, answered the door to his home on Brindley Street to a man claiming to be from trading standards, who asked about work carried out on the house and garden almost a year ago, which had cost £6,000.

A few minutes after he left the resident received a phone call from another man claiming to be trading standards, who told him a court case was ongoing in relation to the work and asked him to bring £6,000 to court.

The first man returned at about 3.30pm and got in the elderly man’s car with him, but grabbed the cash and ran off towards Bishop Street.

The criminal is described as a white man, about 5ft 10ins tall, tall and of plump, stocky build. He had short, fair hair and was wearing casual clothing.

West Mercia Police Detective Constable Jake Wright said school had just ended when the crime took place so there were a lot of young people in the area at the time.

“We would like to hear from anyone who saw this man run off or get into another vehicle,” he said.

“Inquiries into this incident are continuing but it appears to be a form of doorstep crime. We would like to remind people, especially those who are elderly or vulnerable, to beware of rogue traders, who offer to carry out maintenance work but do a very poor job and charge extremely inflated prices.

“It is also important they do not open the door if they are not expecting or do not recognise the person. If they do open the door, secure the door bar or chain first and check the caller's identity carefully. If in doubt, keep them out.

“Neighbours can help by keeping an eye on people calling door to door or behaving suspiciously, and noting the registration number of any vehicle being used.”

Anyone with any information can call 101 with incident number 484-s-041013.

Information can also be given anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.