Three men are being sought by police over two burglaries – one in Richmond.

On Friday, January 8 at about 10pm, two men dressed in black with baseball caps and masks attempted to force entry into a property on Ennerdale Road, Kew.

The men were disturbed by neighbours and when questioned, claimed to be police officers.

After failing to gain entry into the property, the men walked away in the direction of Kew Village.

The other incident happened two days prior, on January 6 in Putney.

In an appeal to the public for information, detectives from the Met's South West investigations team have released images of two of the men.

Detective Constable Arron Hadaway said: "We are currently treating these incidents as linked and are keen to hear from anyone who has information concerning the identity of the suspects, or who may have witnessed any part of these incidents, but has not yet come forward.

"If you think you may have been approached by these suspects claiming to be officers, or if you have any information which may help with our enquiries, please don't hesitate to get in touch."

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Anyone with information should call police on 101 or tweet @MetCC quoting 5618/6JAN.

Alternatively, you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

How to verify a police officer, in order to help protect yourself from criminals

In the event a police officer needs to speak with you, if they are not in uniform they will identify themselves clearly by showing you their warrant card. This is proof of their identity and authority.

If you want to verify their identity, you can ask for their warrant number and then phone 101 to check they are who they claim to be.

A genuine warrant card will have a hologram and the signature of the commissioner - not the holder.