POLICE are urging elderly people to be alert in Hartlepool after a bogus official tried to pass himself off as a council employee.

The man called at houses in the Arnold Grove area of town saying he was from Hartlepool Borough Council, and had come to carry out a survey.

He is described as 6ft to 6ft 2in, in his late fifties, balding with grey hair and a grey beard. He was smartly dressed, wearing a three-quarter length purple coat with black checked lining, and a blue tartan blazer.

Detective Sergeant Tony Green, of Hartlepool CID, said: "I would urge people to please be sceptical and check the ID of any unknown caller. As always, never let them in if you don't know who they are."