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Sixteen Hull pensioners fleeced out of their savings by a gang of fraudsters posing as police and bank staff were aged between 70 and 94, a court heard.

Prosecutors say the victims were targeted by the London-based gang because they are "from a generation that is public-spirited". They were also said to be from "an age group more likely to have a landline" and have other information available on public records.

Abu Kaher, of Camden Gardens, Camden, London, and Syed Rashid, of West Avenue, Hayes, Middlesex, both 25, are on trial at Hull Crown Court and both deny conspiracy to defraud.

Eight other men have admitted being part of the conspiracy – Tanvir Ahmed, 26, of Birmingham, and Londoners Mohammed Miah, 25, Ali Nuruddin, 25, Junid Patwary, 24, Mizan Ali, 21, Amanul Islam, 25, Ruhin Khan, 24, and Abdul Ali, 25.

Towards the end of the prosecution case on Tuesday, the court heard the ages of each victim for the first time, and how much they lost in the scam.

They included two sisters aged 85 and 81 who lost a combined £20,000 - with one losing £5,000 on consecutive days.

In some cases, the victims had been asked by the gang to withdraw more than they actually did, and were only stopped from doing so by their banks.

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A woman aged 94 asked her bank for £10,000, but staff stopped her from withdrawing it. A man aged 87 asked for £9,000, but only lost £5,000. An 83-year-old man was asked for £8,650 - "all he had" - but did not lose any money.

The total actual loss between the 16 was £39,000, but they had been asked for £84,150.

The figures requested for some people who did not lose money were not available, but using an average, police said the potential scale of the fraud was about £112,000.

The court has earlier heard how one pensioner, who was saved from the gang, had told her daughter she was "on police business" as she climbed into a cab booked to take her to her bank. The daughter eventually flagged a police car down, which led to the arrests of Islam and Ali, the jury was told.

A pensioner from Hedon revealed he and his wife lost £2,500 from their joint Lloyds account after he was convinced over the phone he was assisting police by going to his branch and withdrawing the money.

A caller to his landline had said a bank employee had been arrested, £2,000 had gone from his account, and they needed to check other notes for fingerprints.

He handed the money over in an envelope to a man outside his home after being given a previously agreed "password". He had been told he would receive a "reward" of £2,939, but never saw or heard of any of the men involved again.

Both defendants are expected to give evidence in their defence. The trial continues.