A PARTIALLY-blind man waited six days for police to respond after he was conned into parting with some jewellery for fake cash.

Michael Preece, aged 59, was targeted by a conman who snatched a necklace from him, thrust £650 in counterfeit notes at him and ran off, last Friday.

Mr Preece's wife, Margaret, spotted the £50 notes were fake and Mr Preece bravely tried to chase the thief. They called the police, hoping they would catch the man.

Mr Preece, who is blind in one eye and has poor vision in the other, waited at home and called the police five more times over the next five days.

But they didn't come and see him until Wednesday - six days later. Meanwhile, Mr Preece was in possession of £650 of fake bank notes.

The police have now apologised, but Mr Preece, of Lilac Avenue, Tolladine, Worcester, is furious.

"It is unbelievable," he said. "The police could have been here within 10 minutes and could probably have caught the man.

"I stayed in all day on Sunday and Monday waiting for somebody but they just said they would be in touch."

The necklace had been advertised in Bargain Pages and a man came to the Preeces' house to buy it at 5.10pm on Friday, February 28.

Mrs Preece spotted the £50 notes were fake before her husband handed the jewellery to the buyer. The man then grabbed the necklace and ran.

"The notes did not have the silver line," said 49-year-old Mrs Preece. "They looked as though they had been photocopied."

Mr Preece began to give chase but returned home to contact the police. A further five calls were made before they finally visited his house on Wednesday.

"The necklace was insured but that's not the point," Mr Preece said.

"I know it was a busy weekend for the police but I had £650 worth of counterfeit notes at my house for almost a week."

The couple described the thief as being 6ft tall, with short black hair and long, thin hands. He was wearing black shoes and a three-quarter-length charcoal grey coat.

"We apologise to Mr Preece for not attending as quickly as both he and we would have liked," said Chief Insp Howard Owen, of West Mercia Constabulary.

"At the time the call came in on Friday, we started enquiring into this incident and officers did make a thorough search of the area.

"However, during the last four days a large number of emergency calls have been received and these have to be prioritised. Obviously, we realise we should have told Mr Preece of the efforts we have made."

A police officer has now removed the counterfeit notes.