POLICE have been quick to point out they take calls about bogus callers 'extremely seriously' in the wake of a widow's complaints that her pleas for help were ignored.

Retired Lancaster City Council cashier Dorothy Pitt, of Scale Hall, Lancaster, says she was shocked and frightened when a couple hammered on her door, demanding to be allowed in.

The 69-year-old told the Citizen that when she rang to tell city police, a civilian operator said the matter was not serious enough to take immediate action.

Later, after a call from the pensioner's son, police arrived at her semi-detached house and took a description of the pair. Mrs Pitt explained she then realised she probably knew who the man was.

"Once the police arrived, every-thing was fine, but it was a very frightening experience for someone my age, living on my own and I felt I should have been treated with kindness and sympathy when I first called," she says.

A police spokesman says because Mrs Pitt had said in her initial call she thought she knew the identity of the man and there had been no break-in, or suspicious circumstances, it had not been considered a priority call-out.

He says an officer saw Mrs Pitt later and an inspector had looked into her concerns.

"We feel the matter has now been resolved," he told the Citizen, adding he wanted to stress that people should always contact the police if they were worried about bogus callers.