THOUSANDS of elderly people are to be allotted guardian angels in a drive to shut the door on doorstep conmen.

A new scheme launched by Cleveland Police in Middlesbrough allows elderly or vulnerable people to nominate a friend or neighbour to check out the identity of anyone who calls at the door, who they don't know or are uncertain of.

Uninvited and bogus callers will be shown a yellow coloured card by the householder directing them to the home of a neighbour, who will check them and return with them if they are bona fide.

The nominated person will also wait at the house until the caller has left and will not leave the householder alone.

Five thousand yellow cards will be distributed by Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinators, Housing Associations and Street Wardens, which carry details of the nominated neighbours details on it.

Sgt Glynn Bass Crime Prevention Officer at Middlesbrough said, "The colour of the card is significant - in football a yellow card means a booking - this is what organisations such as the utility companies should be doing and not turn up on the doorstep without booking an appointment with the householder.

"Elderly people in particular find it hard to ignore callers as they think it's rude, but our message is if you don't know them don't open the door, show them the card and get them checked out, if they are genuine they will come back with your nominated neighbour or friend.''

Pipeline company Transco has signed a Home Office-backed protocol for utility companies which includes encouraging pensioners to call on a friend or relative to accompany them throughout the engineer's visit.

The company is introducing a larger than normal sized identity card, easier for people with eyesight problems to read.

More than 140 offences of bogus callers have been recorded on Teesside since January this year. Durham Constabulary recorded 178 bogus caller crimes last year, a jump from 154, the previous calendar year.

In the Northumbria Police area, there were 242 house burglaries involving bogus callers between April 2002 and March 2003.

Transco's protocol includes the use of a password system wherever possible and a 24-hour freephone number 0800 111 999 on which householders can check the identity of Transco callers.