THE borough's elderly population is being told to be wary of telephone calls from con artists claiming to be checking on home security with the approval of Enfield Council.

"First we must be clear that no organisation has been given council approval to work on home security in this way," said the council's community safety manager, Mark Sanger.

He added: "We do have a Safehouse scheme to help with security advice and this is arranged through the council and police crime prevention officers. People aged over 60 can apply for a grant and they will receive expert advice and free fitting of all locks supervised by crime prevention officers. This current spate of calls is causing concern and we have passed the matter on to the police for further investigation. The callers do not give their name and home appointments that are made are never kept."

Cllr Terry Smith, council member responsible for community safety, said, "These suspicious phone calls appear deliberately to be targeting old people but it is not clear exactly what the motive is.

"I don't want people to be unnecessarily alarmed, but I certainly advise caution when the phone rings. Anyone claiming to work for the council can be checked so please be on guard.

"Anyone receiving a call of this kind should not enter into any detailed conversation or give out information about their daily routine.

The best answer is to tell the caller that you are too busy to take the call and put the phone down."

For a leaflet on the Safehouse project contact Enfield's Community Safety Unit on 8379 4310.