REPORTS of a "suspicious male" seen loitering near homes have prompted police to put out a warning.

Officers took to social media to advise of sightings of the potential burglar or con artist in and around Kearsley and Farnworth.

He was described as between 35 and 40 years old with light coloured hair.

Inspector Michael Reid, of the Kearsley team, said: "There have been a few reports of a male appearing at, or near houses and when challenged making an excuse for being there, there have been a couple of reports in Kearsley and one on Longcauseway in Farnworth.

"One of the residents informs us the male talked about car boot sales, which is possibly a practised line to legitimise his reason for being there.

"As a result of this we mentioned it on the Twitter feed and we have had a further call from a resident in Buckley Lane in Farnworth reporting similar circumstances from a few weeks ago.

"We do have a suspect in mind and we will be paying him some attention, but at this stage we do not have any actual confirmed offences."

The police's social media message said when challenged while trying insecure doors at homes the man had been telling residents he was collecting items for a car boot or saying he was lost or was searching for a missing lost dog.

Officers suggest he may in fact have been interrupted while scoping out properties for burglaries and came up with an plausible excuse to try to deflect suspicion.

Inspector Reid said: "I do ask residents to remain vigilant especially with the warmer weather upon us now and be careful about leaving doors and windows insecure."

Anyone with information should call police on 101 or 999 in an emergency or Crimestoppers confidentially on 0800 555 111.