A man in his 80s was nearly tricked out of £4,500 by a person who claimed to be a police officer.

The man, from Gillingham, received a call from someone who said they were an officer at Essex Police last Thursday (February 14).

The caller claimed that someone had tried to steal £5,000 from the man’s bank account and put the money back in the account using fake notes.

They said that a police courier would attend his address and check the serial numbers to make sure it was not ‘dodgy money’.

The man withdrew £4,500 and had it in a bag ready for it to be collected.

The same evening, at 7.30pm, a person knocked on the victim's address.

Having asked to use the toilet and being admitted to the house, the man grabbed the bag and tried to run out of the property before the victim tackled him and got the bag back.

The suspect is described as white, early 20s, around 5ft 8in with a slight build. He was wearing a white shirt, black bomber jacket and black trousers.

Detective Sergeant Marc Cananur, from Kent Police’s Serious Economic Crime Unit, said: "A police force will never ask a member of the public for their bank details or money. If you are not confident that a person claiming to be an officer is genuine, ask to take their details. Contact 101, or 999 in an emergency.

"A call handler will be able to verify whether your caller was genuine. Never hand over any money or other items, to a courier after receiving this type of call.

"I’d also like to remind residents that should anyone knock or call unexpectedly requesting personal details or to be let into properties that if you are in doubt of their validity you should not give out any personal information or let them into your home.

"A genuine person will not mind calling back or visiting at a later date when you have had a chance to look into the validity further."