A WOMAN aged 72 outwitted two tricksters who tried to burgle her house.

She answered the door of her home on Moorlands Road, Salendine Nook, at 5pm on Thursday.

The woman at the door claimed her boyfriend had taken her engagement ring off and thrown it into the 72-year-old's front garden while they were having a row.

She asked the victim to help her hunt for it.

But the fake row soon turned into a real one.

The victim kindly went outside to help - wisely locking her back door behind her.

Moments later she heard noises and went to investigate. A man was using a spade to try to prise her door open.

When he realised he had been rumbled, he dropped the spade and barged past her, yelling in anger at his accomplice.

The man is white, in his mid 20s, 5ft 9ins tall and stocky with an oval face and short hair.

The woman is white, aged 25 to 30 with long dark hair in two plaits and a groove on her ring finger - indicating she normally wears an engagement ring.

Anyone with information about the couple or this kind of scam should contact Pc Peter Warwick on 01484 436664.