Four men arrested for fraud after rogue traders trick pensioner out of £32,800 in "nasty" Fareham offence

The individuals were detained this morning after a woman in her 80s handed over £32,800 to them for roof work. This was separated across seven rogue trader incidents between September 27 and October 17.

Police said the males purported to be tradesmen, with them carrying out minimal work on each visit. Arrests were made after officers visited addresses in Titchfield, Fareham and Southampton.

Marcus Kennedy, District Commander for Policing in Fareham & Gosport, said: “Doorstep crime is a nasty offence type which sees some of the most vulnerable members of our community exploited, manipulated or intimidated into parting with enormous sums of cash.

“There is no place for it, and I hope today’s activity sends a message that we will take any reports of this type of crime seriously and we will act. The community are our eyes and ears, so please keep reporting suspicious activity around scam callers or rogue traders to the police so we can build a bigger picture of who, where and how they are operating.”

A 33-year-old man from Southampton arrested on suspicion of fraud by false representation and possession of Class A drugs. Another male from Southampton, 28, was detained on suspicion of fraud by false representation and possession of criminal property. A 40-year-old man from Fareham arrested on suspicion of fraud by false representation., with a 30-year-old male from Titchfield being detained on suspicion of fraud by false representation and possession of criminal property.

CI Kennedy added: “It’s so important that as a community we look after each other. Check in on any elderly or vulnerable friends, neighbours or relatives, encourage them to be cautious around cold callers and to make use of the crime prevention advice available on our website about how to identify, and what to do, if you are contacted by a rogue trader.”

Information on how to deal with doorstep criminals can be found on the police website.