Thousands of pounds have been taken from elderly and vulnerable people duped out of the cash by calls from someone purporting to be a police office.

Surrey Police had reports from people called by someone claiming to be a police officer or similar and then talked them into handing over large amounts of cash and bank cards.

The fraudsters often claim the victim's bank cards have been stolen or used fraudulently.

Four offences have happened in Elmbridge, with £5,860 taken.

Detective Constable Ben Kirby said: "We have seen an increase in reports of fraud offences across north Surrey since the start of 2015 and we are deploying additional officers and carrying out further patrols to tackle this issue.

"These offences are a particularly despicable as the offenders often target innocent elderly and vulnerable members of our communities. I can assure north Surrey residents that a lot of work is also going on behind the scenes involving officers from our CID, the Local Proactive Unit and the Action Fraud Team to establish who is responsible for these offences and bring them to justice."

Anyone who can assist officers with their investigation is urged to contact Surrey Police on 101 or 999 is a crime is currently in progress. Information can be passed to the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.