A MURDER-style investigation was under way last night after a 99-year-old widow died only hours after being the victim of a bogus caller.

Police officers found Rose Hunter dead in her home in Stanley Grove, Heaton, Newcastle, on Thursday morning, after being alerted by a care worker.

The previous evening, police had called on Mrs Hunter after she was tricked by a conman. The officers were the last people to see her alive.

The crook, who may have had an accomplice, talked his way into her flat at midday on Wednesday by posing as a police officer.

He pretended to offer home security advice, then made off with a large amount of cash.

Detective Superintendent Ian Sharp, of Northumbria Police, branded the criminals who carried out the theft as "sick".

He said: "They are callous, sick people who don't deserve a place in society and should be put behind bars as soon as possible.

"Rose was a dear, nice old lady. She was obviously very vulnerable."

Mrs Hunter, who had lived in Stanley Grove for 40 years, suffered from high blood pressure. "She was in frail health," said Det Supt Sharp.

"Any theft or intrusion into your privacy like this will not help your stress levels or blood pressure."

Police are awaiting the results of a post mortem examination, before they can confirm or deny that the victim's death was linked to the trauma of the bogus call.

But they promised that the inquiry would have the same resources and strategy as a murder investigation, and have already set up a major incident room.

Mrs Hunter had lived alone in the house for 15 years, following the death of her civil servant husband, Robert. She had become so frail that she lived entirely in a downstairs room of the large house and slept on a sofa bed.

Only hours before she died, she had described the thief to police. He is aged about 50, 5ft 4ins tall, white and of medium build.

He wore dark clothing, including a woollen hat, and spoke with a Tyneside accent.

Anyone with information should contact police on 0191-214 6555.