POLICE are warning residents to be on their guard following a spate of house burglaries across Hertfordshire in which the thieves have pretended to be policemen.

One of these incidents took place at a house in Station Road in Radlett on Saturday, November 30, just after 8pm when two men got into a 70-year-old's woman home by forcing open a first floor window.

The men confronted the woman as they were coming downstairs, told her that they were police officers and asked her to check if anything was missing from her home.

One of the men left while the other followed the woman upstairs before making his excuses and leaving.

Both men were described as white and in their 30's, wearing blue bomber jackets and dark trousers. One was about 5ft 6ins tall and the other was 5ft 8ins tall. It is not yet known whether anything was taken from the house.

Another incident took place in Topstreet Way, Harpenden, on Sunday, December 1, when two men called at an elderly woman's house and told her that they were police officers and needed to check upstairs.

Both men searched the house and asked where she kept her cash, but left when the phone started ringing.

A neighbour who saw the men described them as white and around 5ft 8ins tall. One had short, fair or ginger hair and was in his 30's. The other was of stocky build, with short black hair and was wearing a white shirt with a black tie and dark trousers.

Detective Constable David Bray from Hertfordshire police's distraction burglary team called Operation Manhunt said: "Police officers always carry proper identification with them in the form of a plastic card, which has a photo of the officer and the constabulary logo on it."

He said that people can always phone police stations to verify the identity of the caller and said that a genuine officer will not mind waiting while a resident does this.

Residents are also advised to use a door chain.

December 9, 2002 16:00