Police today appealed for information after a a 93-year-old woman was tricked by a doorstep conman.

At about 10.30am on Monday, a man called at the home of the elderly woman in Kings Lane, Harwell, claiming to be from the ‘electricity board’.

The woman let the man in and he went into the kitchen and fitted some sort of device to the radiator.

He asked the woman to hold the device in place so that he could take a reading, then left the room.

After a few minutes the woman became suspicious and went to find the man, and discovered him in her living room stealing £150 from her purse. She challenged him, and he left the house taking the money and device with him.

He is described as white, about 5ft tall, about 55 years old, clean shaven, with grey hair in a side parting that was swept back. He was wearing a navy blue lightweight, waist-length jacket, black trousers and black shoes.

Det Con Jon Shaw said: “This type of crime is a callous one, where thieves prey on the elderly and vulnerable and take advantage of them.

“I would urge anyone who knows anything about this incident to come forward and speak to me as soon as possible, so that we can catch the person responsible.

“I would also like to remind people to never let anyone into your house who has not made an appointment to be there. Never just allow someone who calls at your door in your home, even if they claim to be from an organisation and that they need to carry out work.

“If you do have someone calling at your house like this, demand to see identification and then double check with the firm they claim to be from.

“No legitimate caller will mind waiting for you to do this, but make sure that you shut them out of the house while you do and that any other window and door to your property is secure.

“If they become aggressive, close the door and call the police.”

Anyone with information about this incident should contact Det Don Shaw via the 24-hour Thames Valley Police Enquiry Line on 0845 8 505 505. Alternatively, you can contact the Crimestoppers charity anonymously on 0800 555 111.