AN ELDERLY woman was scammed out of £2,000 in Winchester by a man claiming to be a police officer, and now police have released images of a man they want to speak to in connection to the incident.

At around 2.26pm on Thursday June 4, an elderly woman was contacted over the phone by a man claiming to be a police officer from Hammersmith Police.

The man explained to the lady that her bank account had been targeted by fraudsters and that £2,000 had been withdrawn, then re-deposited a short time afterwards.

He then encouraged the woman to visit her local bank branch to withdraw the money and coerced her into handing the money over to home at a pre-arranged meeting outside of her home address.

Now officers have released images of a man they want to speak to in connection to this incident, and anyone with information is urged to come forward.

A Hampshire Police spokesperson said: "Do you recognise this man? Did you see what happened? Did you see him later that afternoon in the local area or surrounding area?

"We want to remind people that a police officer would never call you and ask you for money. No one, not even someone your bank, would call you and ask you for your financial details or ask you to withdraw cash.

"Anyone with any information about this incident is asked to get in touch by calling 101 and quoting reference 44200202099, or alternatively, call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111."