A FRIEND has issued a warning after her elderly neighbour was conned out of £5,000 by rogue traders.

The woman, who will remain anonymous, said the fraudsters targeted her neighbour because he was vulnerable.

The incident happened in Heathleigh Drive, Langdon Hills, over the course of last week.

The woman said: "The men knocked on his door last Friday and told him he had loose roof tiles which needed fixing. It was cold-calling which you're not supposed to do because he has a sign on his door.

"They told him he needed all this work doing. He knew he had a few loose tiles but not that many.

"They came back on the Tuesday and within hours were demanding thousands of pounds from him and they kept asking for more and more money so he was getting a bit agitated.

"They asked him to go to the bank and get a cheque for £5,000.

"He's 78 and is on his own. Sadly, he has been targeted a few times before. It's sickening."

The neighbours, who are good friends with the elderly man, were away on holiday but returned to see the scaffolding and decided to check in on him.

"When we found out what had happened we went to the bank with him and tried to stop the cheque but they had already cashed it. They had only done about £400 worth of work.

"We knew they were due to come back on Friday, so my husband went round at 8am in the morning and told them to leave and that they were not get a penny more from him.

"We have called the police and trading standards so we are hoping they can track them down."

The couple want to make others aware that these men are operating in the area and urge neighbours to look out for each other.

The woman added: "If we were here we would've been with him on Monday because that's when he comes round. These people have cruelly targeted him because he's alone and vulnerable and it's disgusting."

If you have any information that could help, contact Essex Police on 101 or Essex County Council's Trading Standards Team.