POLICE today renewed their appeal for witnesses after linking an incident in which a man posing as a detective targeted an 86-year-old woman with other offences.

The latest incidents, involving what is thought to be the same man, were reported in Edenfield following an earlier instance in Haslingden.

The first incident to be reported to officers involved a man posing as a police CID officer. He stole property from an 86-year-old woman's flat.

But detectives now believe the man may also be responsible for and has knowledge of two previous incidents in Edenfield.

Det Sgt Stuart Barlow said: "We are appealing for anyone who was in the areas in Haslingden near Pentland House off Regent Street or near Bolton Road and Highfield in Edenfield on Thursday afternoon and evening to come forward if they saw anything unusual or suspicious."

He said the descriptions given of the man were very similar and he was sure it was the same person.

The conman is described as white, slim to medium build, 5ft 5ins tall, aged 30 to 40, with a thin nose, wearing a knee-length fawn raincoat, white shirt and black trousers. He did not have a Lancashire accent and had a speech impediment, possibly a stammer.

He was spotted in Edenfield at 3.40pm on Thursday when he went to a house in Bolton Road posing as a CID officer.

He discussed a previous theft at the property with the owner, when coins were stolen by someone the house holder thought was a mechanic.

The man then went to the home of a bed-ridden woman in Highfield, but was not allowed in.

He was in Haslingden at 5.54pm and he talked to the pensioner about a previous time she had been conned, six months ago.

He asked for tea bags for Haslingden police station before stealing her pension and some cash which had been hidden behind a cushion.

DS Barlow said anyone who was in either area at the time and saw the man should contact 01706 237442.