Householders warned following burglaries with offenders disguised as police

Householders are being warned of four burglaries in Folkestone, Canterbury and Dover areas where offenders disguised as police officers have stolen cash.

Detectives are issuing advice to homes in the area about keeping their property safe following the incidents, which are believed to be linked.

The first burglary occurred in the Broadmead village area of Folkestone at around 7pm on Monday 4 March when a 90-year-old man answered the door to a man who claimed to be a police officer investigating crime in the area. He asked the victim to check his valuables had not gone missing before distracting the victim and making off with around several hundred pounds in cash.

On Thursday 14 March, at around 11pm, in Herne Bay Road, Whitstable, a 90-year-old woman found a man claiming to be a police officer in her kitchen claiming to be investigating crime in the area. He again asked the householder to check her belongings before he fled the scene with more than £200 in cash and a bank card. Investigations later found the front door to the property had been forced open.

Four days later, at around 7pm, a 91-year-old in Sandwich found a man purporting to be from Kent Police in her hallway. The man then left the property, via a rear window and the victim discovered several hundred pounds in cash had gone missing.

On the same day, just after 8pm, a couple aged in their 80s in St Margaret's Bay, Dover, discovered a man in their living room who stated: "I'm from the police". When challenged, the offender made his way into their bedroom before leaving through a window. The couple then discovered a significant quantity of cash had been stolen.

In each incident, the offender is described as a white man, between 5ft 1ins and 5ft 8ins tall, wearing a dark coat, dark trousers and dark shoes. In some incidents, the offender was wearing a dark hat and sometimes spoke with a Liverpool or Scottish accent.