Conmen tried to trick a 78-year-old out of hundreds of pounds by claiming her home needed unnecessary maintenance work.

The pensioner became suspicious of a doorstep caller who tried to talk his way into her home in Anne Boleyn’s Walk, Cheam, on Wednesday, November 23 saying he needed access to her loft to fix a neighbour’s burst pipe.

When the woman became suspicious and asked him further questions, the caller replied by demanding her name and phone number and said that his manager would give her a call.

Two minutes later the caller got a call from "Mr Stevens, of CMP Damp Proofing", saying that the work was necessary to fix a neighbour’s burst pipe which was affecting her property too.

The work would involve drying equipment and he wanted £645 as advance payment.

The resident called police after checking with her neighbours on their return and discovering the story about the burst pipe was not true.

The caller is described as a white man, 30 to 40 years old and, over 6ft, with broad shoulders, a round face and dark hair.

He is aid to be well spoken with a local accent, wearing a dark coloured top.

The woman described "Mr Stevens" as having a "bit of a cockney voice".

PC Duncan Harris, of Sutton crime prevention team, said the resident took the right course of action by keeping out this unknown and unexpected caller.

He said: “If you are suspicious of people who call at your home, shut them out, and call police. An immediate 999 call to police is the quickest way of us catching doorstep tricksters and conmen.”