POLICE are warning elderly residents to be on their guard against bogus callers who may be targeting pensioners.

Weald Police issued the warning after an 87-year-old woman, a 74-year-old woman and a 93-year-old woman from Cranbrook were targeted by what may have been a bogus caller.

In the first incident on Wednesday, June 23, an 87-year-old woman saw a man at her kitchen window in Oaklands, Cranbrook, at around 10.30am. The man claimed to be from the council and said he was there to cut her hedge.

When she told him the house was not a council property, he offered to cut the hedge for £10, before walking into her kitchen and asking for a cup of tea. He then asked if she had change for a £20 note, but when she said she did not, he left.

Shortly afterwards, a man entered a house in the same road through an unlocked front door and asked the 74-year-old resident for change for a £10 note. The woman changed the note and asked him to leave, which he did.

Later that morning, at around 11am, a man called at the house of a 93-year-old woman in Dr Hopes Road, Cranbrook, also telling her he was there to cut her hedge. The woman told him to leave, which he did.

No property was stolen in any of the three incidents.

The man is described as white, aged 40-49, 6ft tall, of stocky build, dark brown, greasy hair, clean-shaven with bushy eyebrows and spoke with a southern accent.

He was wearing a three-quarter length duffle coat without horn buttons, but with leather patches on the front of the chest and shoulders, and dark trousers.

A Weald Police spokesman said: "Residents should be on their guard and make sure that they are quite clear of the identity of anyone trying to gin entry into their homes.

"Ask callers for ID and if they do not have ID, do not allow them in. Check ID with the company who they claim to represent, if suspicious. Genuine callers will be happy to wait while their identity is verified."