Thieves raided the home of a 91-year-old woman in the Black Country after duping her into believing they were from the water board.

Cash was stolen from the pensioner’s home in Bloxwich after the thieves told her there had been an explosion in a nearby street that had affected the water supply. While one man distracted her at the door, another rifled through the rooms upstairs.

On the same day, an 85-year-old woman was targeted at her home in Darlaston but she turned the conman away empty handed. The man was also claiming to be from the water board

Police today described the crimes as “despicable”.