POLICE lay in wait at a pensioner's house after residents complained of being targeted by "aggressive" telesales people.

Three elderly householders in the Ribble Valley contacted the police after receiving calls, later discovered to be from a Southport company, European Environmental Control, which sells security equipment.

But the company today insisted it was reputable and had not deliberately targeted old folk.

The householders had said the callers were 'pushy' and, on one occasion, telephoned back twice to make an appointment with a view to giving advice on security.

Inspector Bob Ford said the information he had received relating to homes in Mitton Road, Whalley, Grindleton Road, West Bradford and St Mary's Street, Clitheroe, was initially "very worrying".

He said: "It seemed strange that these male callers, believed to have Liverpool accents, were somehow able to single out elderly residents and trying to make them agree to making an appointment.

"The people who got in touch with us said the men seemed insistent. They were naturally very worried and we were very suspicious."

He said an appointment had been made in St Mary's Street, Clitheroe, and an officer waited for the caller to arrive.

Insp Ford added: "We placed an officer in the house ready to question the people when they arrived. However, the callers failed to turn up.

"We later learned that an appointment at another house in Whalley had been made and kept.

"We got in touch with the owner who said the people who called were polite and were not threatening. We feel it was, in fact, a genuine call.

"It seems that the telesales people who made the phone calls came over as a bit aggressive and residents felt threatened."

The security firm's managing director, John Ball, said his company was well established and reputable. He disputed the claims his staff were forceful and targeted elderly people.

He said: "The company has been established for 15 years. We have 85 operators who work to a script and make thousands of calls each day from a computerised directory.

"When appointments to demonstrate our security equipment have been booked the clients' names are passed on to a supervisor who calls back about an hour later to see if the initial inquiry was satisfactory."

He said all calls were recorded and could be traced back to the operator.