Men pretending to be council employees called on a flat in Wellingborough this week and said that they needed to get access to water and the boiler.

They warned that if they were not able to carry out the work, then all of the flats in the block would "blow".

Northamptonshire Police said residents, especially the elderly, should be aware of the new scam.

A Police Community Safety spokesman said: "This is a new twist to the old tale of distraction burglaries, and we would urge people not to open their doors to anyone they don't know."

Police said the one of the men calling round is aged between 25 - 35 years old and about 5 ft 8 ins tall, with a broad Irish accent. He has mousy brown collar-length hair and was unshaven.

The second male is younger and over 6 ft tall. He is white, and was wearing a blue woolly hat. Both men also wore blue boiler suits.