AN ELITE team of officers targeting criminals who prey on the elderly and vulnerable has issued a series of pictures of the most wanted men in the region.

The offenders are wanted for crimes on Teesside but police think they may be responsible for distraction burglaries in County Durham and North Yorkshire.

One man climbed a six foot high wall to get into the back yard of a pensioner's home in North Ormesby, Middlesbrough, and claimed to be from the gas board. He said there had been an explosion nearby and the boiler needed checking. His 73-year-old victim later found several hundred pounds had been stolen from drawers in his bedroom.

A chubby thief was one of two men who got into an 81-year-old woman's home in Easington, east Cleveland on July 2 after claiming they needed to check her heater. They stole £100 from her handbag.

Two people targeted the home of an 81-year-old woman in Loftus, east Cleveland, last month.

They opened her unlocked door, walked in and claimed to be looking for a man named Derek. The thieves carried out a burglary the same day on another 81-year-old, in Nunthorpe, Middlesbrough.

A man burgled the home of an 81-year-old woman in Middlesbrough and is thought to be responsible for a number of offences in Thornaby and Durham. He walked into her garden and claimed workers had fractured a nearby main and had to check her water supply.

"They are the criminals whose activities frankly sicken everybody," said Detective Inspector Colin Tansley, who is heading the Cleveland Police task force.

"Their victims are always elderly and mostly live alone. Apart from the trauma of being duped and burgled, the aftermath of the offence can lead to them becoming virtual prisoners in their own homes, afraid to open the door to anyone."

Operation Strongbow has been set up by Cleveland Police to bring confidence tricksters to justice.

More than 150 offences were recorded on Teesside last year but police think many more occur but go unreported.

As part of a long-term strategy, crime analysts are working alongside officers in the Force Intelligence Bureau to build up a series of e-fit pictures. Everyone who has reported such offences since January is being visited and asked to fill in a detailed questionnaire to help build up a profile of the offenders.

Det Insp Tansley said there have been four distraction burglaries recorded in Hartlepool, two in Middlesbrough, one in Stockton and three in the Redcar area.

* Anyone who may know the men is asked to call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.