POLICE are investigating a possible link between raids on pensioners' homes in Radcliffe and Prestwich.

AT 3.15pm on Tuesdayn (March 12), a man and a woman claiming to work for Bury Council called at the home of a 73-year-old woman in King Street, Radcliffe.

To trick their way into the house, they told her they were checking on double glazing. But while one of the offenders distracted the home owner, the other searched the house for cash.

The duo escaped with what police describe as a small amount of money.

The male offender was white, with short hair and wearing a white tracksuit. His accomplice was white, in her late 20s with long dark hair.

Thirty minutes earlier, police were called to an address in Warwick Street in Prestwich following a similar incident.

A man and a woman again used the same excuse to con their way into a 70-year-old woman's home before they stole her pension.

Police say the man matched the description of the Radcliffe offender, while his accomplice was said to be in her 40s, with dark, collar-length hair and dressed in a navy blue trouser suit.

PC John Flowers, of Bury's Operational Police Unit, said: "We are investigating the possibility that these incidents are connected due to the timings, the excuse used to gain entry into the houses and the descriptions of the offenders.

"I urge anyone who has any information about either incident or who knows the offenders to call the police immediately."

Detectives can be contacted on 856 8248 or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.