A PENSIONER has died after being confronted by two bogus Water Board officials at his Bromley Cross house.

Two men claiming to be Water Board officials knocked at the back door of the 75-year-old's Mill Street home which he shared with his wife.

They told him they were there to check the pipes and taps.

Police said, that at first the man seemed a little suspicious of the duo, but one of them managed to talk his way into the kitchen and looked at the pipes under the sink while the other man waited outside.

The first man then ran upstairs and into one of the bedrooms and then ran out of the house via the kitchen and back door.

Shortly after this, say police, the pensioner, who has not yet been named, collapsed and died.

The incident comes just days after two men conned their way into home of retired factory worker Kenneth Pritchard's Wolverhampton flat and turned violent when confronted by Mr Pritchard and his wife Flora.

A post-mortem examination established the 84-year-old died of heart failure which, in the opinion of the pathologist, was directly attributable to the stress of the incident.

The men involved in today's incident in Bolton are described as white, in their early 20s, both wearing dark coloured clothing, it is thought that they spoke with a soft Irish accent.

Detective Chief Inspectory Carol Ashworth said: "This is a very upsetting incident and we are doing all we can to find

these two men and I would urge anyone to come forward if they have experienced any similar incident within the area irrespective of how insignificant it may have seemed at the time."

"Elderly people need to be extra vigilant when answering their doors and if they are at all concerned to check for identification and if the callers do not have this then please do not let them in - genuine callers will always have identification."

Anyone with any information regarding this or similar incidents is asked to contact 0161 856 5740 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.