A Watford man was scammed out of £2,000 by fraudsters yesterday.

The man, who is in his late 50s, was contacted several times between 3.30pm and 6.15pm by someone claiming to be a police officer from Wembley Police Station.

The fraudster claimed they had arrested a person who was found in possession of counterfeit money that had originated from the victim's local bank.

They then asked the man to visit his bank and withdraw money that could be sent to him to be "tested".

Initially the man refused to do this, but the caller then threatened to arrest the victim if he did not assist with the investigation.

After this the man visited the bank and withdrew £2,000. Once this was done, the fraudster called back and organised a courier to collect the money, which was done later in the afternoon.

Hertfordshire Constabulary has re-issued a warning to residents to be alert about phone scams. They said the police or banks would never ask for your bank account details or PIN number over the phone, ask you to withdraw money and send it to them via any means or your bank cards or personal property.

If anyone receives a suspicious phone call they should contact the police on 101 and to remember to wait at least five minutes before attempting to make the call or use a different line.