Pensioners are being warned to be on their guard after a series of thefts and confidence tricks.

Thieves have targeted pensioners in the Horsham area, stealing from handbags and ransacking homes.

A bogus electricity board official stole £30 in cash after getting into an 89-year-old woman's home.

The man tricked his way into the pensioner's flat in Blenheim Road. He told the woman to stay in the lounge and then went into the kitchen where he took money from her handbag.

The thief was described as white, in his thirties or forties, 5ft 4in to 5ft 6in, with dark hair and blue jeans.

Another Horsham pensioner disturbed an intruder in his home.

He was in the lounge and his wife was in the back garden when a man walked into the house and claimed he was there to warn of drilling work which was being planned nearby.

He left and the couple realised their bedroom had been ransacked, although nothing was stolen.

The intruder was described as in his mid twenties, 5ft 6in, slim, with short cropped hair.

He was tanned and had a broad nose and was wearing a blue and red checked lumberjack shirt and blue jeans.

Another pensioner in her eighties had £100 stolen from her flat in North Parade, Horsham.

A bedroom window in her home was damaged but it is not known if that is how the burglar got in.

PC Zoe Bunby said: "Please don't let anyone into your home without first checking their ID, and if you're worried don't let them in and contact the company they're claiming to represent."

Anyone with any information about the thefts should contact police on 0845 60 70 999.