A man in his 80s was scammed out of £6,000 by a scammer pretending to be an undercover police officer investigating fake gold.

Hampshire police revealed they had received reports of the elderly man being called by the fake officer, who claimed that he was carrying out a large undercover investigation.

The scammer told the man in his 80s that he needed him to help with his investigating, persuading him to withdraw £6,000 in cash.

The elderly man then met a man in the Sainsbury's car park in Shirley around 4pm on January 14, handing over the cash.

Later, the scammer then phoned the victim again, claiming he was investigating fake gold imported from overseas.

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The man asked the victim to buy a large amount of gold from a jewellery store so it could be assessed.

The elderly victim then tried to place a £13,200 deposit with a jewellers in Southampton, but the shop did not authorise the transaction and instead contacted the police.

Officers then launched an investigation and CCTV has now been released of a man police want to speak to in connection to the incident.

He is white, of average build and has dark hair.

In the photo, he was wearing jeans, a white hoodie and a dark woolly jumper.

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Hampshire police said: "Do you recognise the man? If you know their identity, saw anything suspicious in the area at the time, or have any dashcam or doorbell camera footage which could aid our investigation, please contact us.

"Courier fraud is an advanced type of scam, which typically sees a victim receive an unexpected call from someone who pretends to be a police officer, a staff member from their local bank, or an employee from an internet or phone provider.

"Victims are usually asked for details about their financial accounts before being sent to their bank to withdraw money. They are then told to hand over money or an expensive item to a fraudulent courier, who will typically come to their home to collect it.

"If someone calls claiming to be a police officer, ask for their ID number and police force. Wait at least five minutes before verifying details with the appropriate Force by calling 101 – do not use any number they provide unless you can confirm it as genuine."