A NEW awareness campaign is under way in Dorset warning elderly residents about bogus callers and distraction burglars.

Last year there were 110 distraction burglaries reported in the county but police believe the number may be a lot higher as some victims feel too ashamed to report it.

In a bid to ensure victims report a crime and also call in with important witness information Dorset Crimestoppers is rolling out its awareness scheme which was successfully piloted in West Dorset last year.

Victims of distraction burglaries are normally deliberately targeted because they are vulnera ble and they are often left severely traumatised by the experience.

The most common excuses for calling at an address is that they are from the "Water Board"

but legitimate representatives from a water company will not visit without first making an appointment.

Richard Daubeney, chairman of Dorset Crimestoppers, said: "We want people to have our number by the phone and we would encourage them to ring about anything suspicious to do with doorstep crime, rogue traders or anything to do with the elderly being targeted by criminals.

"It is a despicable crime and hopefully we are going to get people to respond.

"We know a lot of elderly people are too scared or embarrassed to report it to the police. We are encouraging them to ring our free phone number and tell us. We can then tell Dorset Policewho are very keen to tackle the problem."

Crimestoppers can be contacted on 0800 555111.