Bogus workmen fled empty-handed after they were challenged by two Shropshire pensioners as they attempted to get into their homes.

In one incident, a 94-year-old woke to find a stranger in his home at Ridgeway, High Ercall, who had come into the property through the back door as he slept.

The man said he was there to do the security fencing but the pensioner told him he had to wait until he had spoken to the warden, police said. The man then fled empty-handed shortly after 3pm on Tuesday.

In a separate incident less than two hours later, a 78-year-old man was targeted in Dark Lane Drive, Malinslee, where a man said he was working at the end of the road and needed to turn the water off.

Again the pensioner quizzed the man and would not let him into the house. The man left empty-handed.

Chris Ammonds, spokesman for Telford police, said: “The High Ercall pensioner did exactly what we would advise and stopped the man going any further in his home. By telling him he was calling the warden, he managed to scare off the man.

“In the second incident the victim asked a few pertinent questions and did not let him into other areas of the house.

“We will be looking at possible links between them.”

He added elderly residents should always ask for identification and then check it out to make sure it is genuine.