HUNDREDS of leaflets on stopping doorstep crime are being distributed to homes in Durham villages.
Durham Police's Sherburn beat team has had 1,000 leaflets printed giving useful advice on preventing bogus callers.
The flyers are being sent out in Sherburn, Kelloe and Bowburn, with an emphasis on houses known to be pensioners' homes.
The leaflets remind people to always ask for proof of identity if callers claim to be from the public utilities.
Useful phone numbers, including those for Northumbrian Water, NEDL and Transco, are listed. The non-emergency number for Durham Police, 0845 6060365, is also listed.
PC Gordon Stuart, of the Sherburn beat team, said: "After another recent spate of incidents in our area we acted quickly to get the leaflets printed and distributed."
Last year, 142 bogus caller, or distraction burglaries, were recorded in the county and in January there were 15 reported incidents.
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