PHONE scam targeting elderly people in Lancashire may have spread as far as Bolton, police have warned.

Incidents have been reported to police after fraudulent telephone calls by a man purporting to be a police officer to residents living in Preston, Bamber Bridge and Burnley during February, but police fear the scam could have spread to other areas of the north west.

The caller advises people that their bank card or bank account has been compromised and that the person should withdraw funds from the relevant account.

Some of the victims — mainly aged in their seventies and eighties — have handed over money or transferred it into a fraudulent bank account, being scammed out of thousands of pounds.

Det Con Will Hogan said: “These are despicable crimes against vulnerable, elderly victims.

“This con artist has even been going so far to say that there were two men currently in police custody elsewhere in the country for trying to access that person’s bank account."

Anybody with information can contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.