POLICE have warned North Yorkshire residents to be on their guard after bogus officials conned their way into an elderly woman's home and stole £200.

A man knocked on the door of a house in Scorton, near Richmond, claiming to be working for a water company.

He said there had been a mains burst nearby and he needed to test the water pressure.

Although challenged to produce proof of identity, he persuaded the 77-year-old to let him in.

He asked her to fill a kettle and let the water run until blue dye came though the taps, but the suspicious homeowner asked him to leave.

As she was seeing him to the door, she found two other men rummaging around her bedroom, claiming they were looking for pipes.

Once all the men had left, the victim checked her purse and found the money was missing.

The man who knocked on the door spoke with a lisp and was aged about 18. He was wearing a fawn flat cap and a green jumper.

The other two men were aged between 17 and 20. One wore a black or dark blue jacket.

Richmond police asked anyone who saw the men in the village on Wednesday lunchtime or has had strangers knocking on their door, to contact CID on (01748) 789352.