Police are linking the incidents on bank holiday Monday in which the men claimed there was a problem with the water supply to get into the women's homes.

At 10.30am, a man called at a property in Pentlow Hawke Close and asked the occupant, in her 70s, and her friend for access to the stopcock and taps.

After failing to find the stopcock the man left.

He was white, in his late teens, 5ft 6in tall, of slim build with light-coloured hair, a local accent and wearing a white shirt and trousers.

A second man, spotted inside the house, was white, in his late teens, 5ft 6in tall, of slim build and wore a striped shirt and blue shirt.

At about the same time a man called at another Pentlow Hawke Close home, this time occupied by a woman in her 80s, and claimed a water main had been damaged.

She accompanied him as he checked the taps and stopcock before leaving empty handed.

He was 5ft 7in tall, in his late teens, slimly built with short, dark hair and a moustache and wore a white striped shirt.

The third incident happened at 11am in Withersfield Road; a man called at a house and told a woman in her 80s he was having water problems.

She let him in but changed her mind and asked him to leave and later discovered cash had been taken from the house. The man was in his 20s, slimly built, 5ft 5in tall with short mousey hair and a moustache and wore blue trousers and a whiteish shirt.

Call Det Con Paul Chapman on 01284 774100.