Elderly man robbed by thief posing as police officer

An elderly man was punched and robbed by a man who pretended to be a police officer.

Michael Avery, 73, heard a knock at the door at his home in Higher Walton and asked the caller to identify himself.

When the man claimed he was from the police Mr Avery opened the door and was forced backward, then punched in the face.

The offender grabbed the Mr Avery’s wallet from his pocket and stole his house and car keys, locking the victim in his bathroom before leaving and taking the victim’s blue Fiat Panda.

DC Darren Caunce from Preston CID said:

The offender is thought to be a white male, around 5ft 8ins, approximately 30 years old and was wearing a dark hooded jacket with a black scarf covering his face.

Anyone with information can contact police on 101 quoting incident reference number 1628 of March 29th.

Alternatively, Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.

A man, 48 and a woman, 41, from, Preston were arrested yesterday on suspicion of robbery but have been bailed pending further enquiries until June 1st.