A woman aged in her 80s, who lives near Grantham, was scammed into parting with more than £5,000 by people claiming to be police officers.

Lincolnshire Police said this afternoon the fraudsters contacted the woman by phone and gave a detailed account of why they needed her to withdraw funds and hand them to a so-called police courier.

The woman subsequently withdrew funds from her bank and gave then to the fraudsters when they visited a property in Buckminster Lane, Skillington, Grantham on July 5.

Lincolnshire Police insist this would never happen. You would never be asked by a legitimate organisation or business to hand over money to someone collecting it from your house.

Through their investigations, police have been following a number of lines of enquiry, and we are now keen to hear from anyone who might have dashcam footage from that street, or nearby streets, between 1.30pm and 3pm.

PC Rachel Smith from Grantham CID, said: "This type of scam is particularly distressing and invasive for the person involved; they have been targeted in their home, a place that they should be able to feel, and expect to be, safe. Despite the victim asking lots of questions, these scammers had ways to get round her suspicions.

"Our new line of enquiry is of particular importance, and we're very keen to hear from anyone who might be able to help us. Perhaps you regularly commute through that route, or live or work in the area – any information will be gratefully received to support our investigations, and hopefully bring those responsible to justice to help the victim."

PC Smith added: "This was a despicable way to prey on a person who may be vulnerable, and the amount of money in question here is not insignificant."

Lincolnshire Police say their advice is to always question what's happening. If you get a knock at the door, or a call from someone who appears to be official, ask yourself whether you were expecting them. If not, then check it out by calling the company or they say they are from using a telephone number you have verified yourself.

If the person knocking on your door is genuine then they will wait for you to check them out. Remember, you can do all of this without opening your door or speaking to the person on the other end of the phone at all. There is more good advice available from "Take Five".

If you have information or dash cam footage which can help with this incident, there are a number of ways to get in touch:

By clicking on the email link [email protected] please remember to reference crime number 21000379557 in the subject box.

Via the non-emergency number 101, quoting crime number 21000379557

Through the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at crimestoppers-uk.org.