POLICE are warning householders to be on the lookout for two conmen who burgled a house in Worcester and one in Evesham by pretending to be there on official business.

The first distraction burglary took place in Hemmingway, Evesham, on Wednesday, when the men stole a beige wallet containing £100, photographs and a Giro card.

A West Mercia police spokesman said: "They told the female householder, who was hanging out her washing, that they were there to fell trees.

"One of the men showed her an identity tag complete with photograph, but she was not able to read the wording and became suspicious, telling them to leave."

He said at this point one of the men took off the identity tag and when the woman asked him where it was he became confused.

She said he appeared to have a speech impediment and after some hesitation the two men left.

The police spokesman added: "She did not discover she had been robbed until later in the day."

The first man was described as being of a large build with a speech impediment, with sandy-coloured hair and wearing a dark jacket and jeans.

The second was of much a smaller build with slick black hair.

The next theft occurred at 11.30am on the same day in St Wulstans Crescent, off Fort Royal Hill, Worcester, when two men, matching the description of the thieves in the first incident, stole a number of small personal items after walking into a house.

One of the thieves was described as being around 22 stone, 5ft 10ins tall, with blonde hair and a speech impediment.

There were no details of the smaller man, except that they were both wearing what appeared to be new dark donkey-type jackets and new blue jeans.

The police spokesman added: "There are a number of startling similarities between the descriptions of the people involved in both thefts.

"We are hopeful that someone will quickly recognise any likely 22-stone men with speech impediments and come forward with information."

Anyone who saw anything suspicious or recognises the description of the men should call West Mercia police on 08457 444 888, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.