HOMEOWNERS are being urged to be on their guard against telephone fraudsters claiming to be police officers.

In the past few days the scam has resulted in a Droitwich woman losing £5,000 and a Worcester couple being left £2,400 out of pocket.

Police say the Droitwich woman, who is 77, received a call on Saturday (March 1) from a man claiming to be a police officer in London.

He claimed her bank account had been "compromised" and told her to withdraw the £5,000 in there which would then be collected by a 'courier', which turned out to be a taxi driver hired by the fraudsters.

The previous day the Worcester couple had a call from a man also claiming to be a London police officer.

He said their bank cards had been cloned and used in a casino in London, and were now needed to produce in court at the suspects' trial.

They were told to phone their bank to confirm account details but the offender had not cleared the line and took the information.

Another 'courier' then arrived, wearing a yellow jacket, and took the cards away. It was later discovered the cash had been removed from the accounts.

There were four other similar calls reported in West Mercia over the weekend, in Worcester, Droitwich and Craven Arms, Shropshire.

Some of the recipients were suspicious and did not give in to the fraudsters' requests.

Last week Warwickshire Police and West Mercia Police urged individuals to be vigilant, and not to be taken in by the scam.