Two scam victims were conned out of thousands of pounds while another narrowly avoided losing £20,000.

A 90-year-old woman from Chaucer Road in Worthing received a phone call at 10am on Tuesday from a man pretending to be an officer from the Metropolitan Police.

He told her there had been fraud on her account and she needed to go to the bank and transfer £20,000 into an account number he gave to her. The woman went to the bank and set up the transfer, although the bank’s security intercepted and stopped it.

However in a separate incident an 82-year-old woman from Falmer Close, Goring, was conned out of more than £4,000 after she received a scam call on the same day.

She withdrew £2,000 from two bank accounts and cut up her cards before handing them over to a woman she believed to be a police officer. The cards were then used to withdraw more money.

A 49-year-old woman from North Farm Road, Lancing, was called on the same day in similar circumstances. She transferred £2,000 into an account before the man later called back and asked her to transfer more money. The woman became suspicious and said the bank was closed before hanging up. Further calls were also made to different residents.

A spokeswoman from Sussex Police said: "Legitimate organisations like the bank or police would never ask for bank or card details over and phone and we urge people to stay vigilant and to never pass on these details.

"Anyone receiving such calls should wait at least 10 minutes for their line to clear and if the opportunity arises dial 1471 to obtain the caller's number."

Five reports of scam phone calls have been made in the last 48 hours in the Worthing area.