A YORK pensioner has told how a burglar alarm salesman persuaded her to withdraw £2,000 in cash from her bank after subjecting her to a four-hour sales pitch.

She said Paul Rawson accompanied her to the city centre bank and then returned with her to her home in the Micklegate area, where she handed over the cash to pay for an alarm system.

But it was never installed and she never got a penny back. "I should have been smarter," she said.

The woman, who is in her 70s, spoke out to warn other people of the dangers after Rawson, of Rotherham, was jailed for nine months on Monday, by a judge at Leeds Crown Court, after he admitted making false statements.

Her comments came as North Yorkshire trading standards, who brought the case against Rawson, pledged to carry on its pioneering crackdown on doorstep criminals, saying: "We have adopted a zero tolerance approach.

"We will continue with this high-profile campaign, coupled with effective enforcement until these conmen get the message that they are not welcome in North Yorkshire, or indeed on any doorstep in this country."

The pensioner told the Evening Press her rip-off started with a phone call from someone asking if she would like a monitored alarm installing at her home, and she agreed to a salesman visiting her home.

"He (Rawson) arrived on time and was very cheerful and pleasant," she said. "He had all the equipment with him.

"He was never rude, but as time went on, he was getting more agitated about getting me to agree to it.

"That's the point when I should have said 'No'.

"He said he had to have cash and asked if he could go to my bank with me so I could withdraw it, and I foolishly did it.

"He said that if I paid £2,000, there was £1,500 of Government funding available for the elderly to pay the rest. It turned out that wasn't true. There was no such money available."

A few days later, no one had turned up to install the equipment and she contacted Rawson on his mobile.

"He said everything was OK."

But nothing ever arrived and she has now written off the sum, and never tried again to get an alarm installed.

"It's kind of put me off," she said.

She said that had she paid by card, she could have got her money back. She advised anyone else who was ever subjected to such a sales pitch to demand time to think about it - and to refuse to pay in cash.

Updated: 10:00 Thursday, November 25, 2004