A visit from bogus High Court debt collectors resulted in an elderly man being robbed in his own home.

A man and a woman knocked on the 81-year-old victim's door in Eridge Green, near Crowborough, at 8am on Monday (September 19).

They claimed to be from the High Court and authorised to collect a debt for unpaid VAT. They carried no identification or official paperwork. When refused entry they forced the householder inside and into a chair, where they demanded to know where his money was kept.

The house was ransacked as the intruders searched for cash, and eventually they made off with a few hundred pounds. Their victim was left badly shaken but otherwise unhurt.

The man was described as 6ft, aged 25-30, solidly built, with dark hair and wearing a dark jacket and trousers.

The woman was in her 20s, 5ft 6in, with light brown, shoulder-length hair and wearing a jacket and skirt.

Police are urgently seeking witnesses or any other information relating to this or any similar incidents in the area.

Email 101@sussex.pnn.police.uk or phone 101, quoting serial 307 of 19/09.

Alternatively call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.