AN ELDERLY couple have been left £4,200 out of pocket in what police believe was a targeted con by rogue traders.

Police said two men in high-vis clothing, falsely posing as builders working at Accrington Stanley, went to the couple’s house in Whalley Road, Accrington, and offered to fix a loose roof tile free of charge.

Once the men were on the roof they fraudulently claimed that thousands of pounds of repair work needed doing.

The couple, who are in their 70s, went to a bank and withdrew thousands of pounds and handed it over to the men. However they have never returned to carry out any work.

No arrests have been made in connection with the incident, which happened at around 4.30pm on Tuesday, and police are appealing for witnesses to come forward

Police believe two red vehicles with writing on the side, which were seen in the area at the time of the incident, are connected to the fraud.

PC Dave Render said: “This couple have been targeted because of their vulnerability, nothing more, nothing less. The kind of people who can do something like this are simply disgusting. We will do everything in our power to ensure they are brought to justice.

“Fraudsters who target people in this way are incredibly plausible and invariably seek out people who they know are vulnerable.

“I would therefore ask you to keep an eye on older friends and relatives, or anyone who needs a bit of extra looking after, and remind them to be cautious and never to draw out money based on someone coming to their door.”

The latest fraud comes in the wake of an incident in the Rosegrove area of Burnley, where an elderly man was approached by a fraudster who knocked on his door and claimed he had laid a new drive.

He said that the householder owed him £4,500, telling him he was owed a £8,000 cheque for another job nearby.

A police spokesman said the conman said that if the householder would go to the bank and withdraw £3,500 to hand over to him, he would hand over that cheque.

But when the elderly man went to the bank, according to police, he told bank staff what was happening and they prevented him from making the withdrawal.

Police say that conman has not been caught but their enquiries are continuing.

Anyone with information about the incident in Accrington is asked to call police on 101, quoting crime reference 04/36357/19.