BOGUS police officers who pray on the elderly claimed their third victim in Blackpool this week in their most violent attack yet.

A 76-year-old woman was repeatedly thrown to the floor of her flat in Iddon Court, near Grosvenor Street, by a man who demanded to know where she kept her valuables. The brave pensioner even tried wrestling with the robber, who towered over her at 5ft 11ins.

The thug walked into the elderly persons' complex and the victim's flat without invitation on Monday (June 14).

The resident challenged him and he told her that he was a police officer trying to find the owners of a haul of stolen property.

When the woman tried to force him out of the flat, he grabbed her and knocked her to the floor, demanding to know where all her valuables were.

The robber then dragged her into a bedroom and threw her to the floor again, telling her that he had a knife.

He searched the bedroom and kicked the woman when she tried to get back on her feet, escaping with a quantity of envelopes, containing cash, labelled for relatives.

As the thug tried to leave the flat, the pensioner tried to wrestle with him and was again thrown to the floor.

He is described as white, 5ft 11ins with dark hair and is cleanshaven and of tidy appearance.

He was wearing a light beige jacket, dark trousers and well-polished shoes. A second man, seen running away from the scene with the first, is described as white, 5ft 4ins and stocky with short, bleached hair and was wearing a red and white jacket and beige trousers.

Detective sergeant Kevan Turner of Blackpool CID said: "This is the latest in a series of instances where robbers have conned their way into people's homes pretending to be police officers.

"This is by far the most violent attack yet and the most money they have taken."

Two bogus officials, matching the descriptions of the men in the latest incident, struck at South Shore addresses on Sunday (June 13).

On those occasions, the two men posed as CID officers and targeted a 73-year-old and 85-year-old, although no violence was used.

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