A bogus businessman who has stolen hundreds of pounds worth of stamps across southern England appears to be using Kingston as his latest hunting ground.

The man, who is being sought by police across the region, pretends to be setting up a new business before buying stamps with a cheque which bounces as it drawn on a closed account.

In the latest incident the man, described as tall with glasses and with some sort of company badge obscured by his jacket, approached Incas Newsagents in Ewell Road last week and said he was setting up a solicitors office nearby and would need newspapers delivered.

He later rang back to organise the deliveries and said he also needed to buy some stamps. When manager Raksha Patel said she did not sell stamps he put the phone down and has not been heard of since.

But at the end of September another newsagents, on Kingston Hill, did not escape so lightly when he paid for £116 worth of stamps with a Barclays Bank cheque which bounced.

As a result, Kingston Police are now warning newsagents in the area to beware of the trickster who, they said, is also being investigated by police in Chelsea and whose actions are well known to a branch of Barclays Bank in Kent.

It is believed that the cheques bear the name Riverside Stores, based in Kent.

If you have any information on this series of crimes phone DC Gareth Griffiths at Kingston CID on 020 8247 5131.