An elderly woman was scammed out of £7,000 by a conman claiming to be a police officer.

The 86-year-old, of Hailsham, was contacted by telephone by a man who said her bank account had been compromised.

She was asked to remove the thousands from her account and give it to a courier who would come to her home.

The victim was asked to ring the bank back, but the scammer kept the phone line open and also pretended to be her bank.

She went to the bank and withdrew the money on Wednesday, February 5.

It comes just days after Brighton and Hove officers put out a warning about a similar con.

In a statement the city division said: “A scam is active in Brighton and Hove. Four reports of the same scam were made to police over the last 48 hours.

“The victim will be contacted by phone by a person claiming to be a police officer for a force outside of Sussex.

“This person will then inform the victim the force they are from have arrested a suspect who has banking information that belongs to the victim and that they would like to confirm your banking details.

“Once done the caller will then suggest sending a courier to collect the victim’s bank cards from the victim’s home address.

“Later a person will arrive to collect the victim’s bank cards and will then remove money from the victim’s bank accounts.”

Detective Chief Inspector Ali Eaton said: “Under no circumstances would the police or your bank request your PIN number over the telephone or arrange collection of your bank cards from your home address in this manner.

“I advise all members of the public to never give out your bank details to someone who has contacted you on your home phone unsolicited.

“If you have any suspicions please do not use |the phone you have |just been called on to |contact the police or your bank.

“I urge anyone to pass the message on to friends and relatives who may not be aware of this particular type of targeted fraud, to prevent any vulnerable friends or family members from becoming victims.”

Anyone with information about the scam should call the force on 101.