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

The 86-year-old, of Hailsham, was contacted by telephone by a conman who said he was a police officer and convinced her that her bank account had been compromised.

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

She was then asked to ring the bank but the scammer kept the phone line open so they could pretend to be her bank as well. She went to the bank and withdrew the money on Wednesday, February 5.

It comes just days after Brighton and Hove officers warned about a virtually identical scam.

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. "

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. If possible use another phone to contact the police to report it, or to contact a friend to relative to alert them.

"I urge anyone reading or hearing this message to pass it on to any 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.