ROGUE builders are once again doing the rounds in York and police are warning people to be on their guard against fly-by-night firms.

Police were alerted after an incident involving an elderly resident of Beans Way, near Huntington.

The woman, who is in her 80s, received a call from two men who talked her into having her front drive paved with bricks. But their high-pressure salesmanship upset her and when they left she shared her fears with a neighbour.

She told him she had been given a quote of £400 to have the work done, which he felt was well below the cost of the work and became suspicious.

He contacted police and went round to his elderly neighbour's home the following morning when the builders had arranged to call back. When the men returned the woman told them she did not want to have the drive re-paved and they left.

Detective Inspector David Hunt, of York Police, said the woman was lucky to have such a helpful neighbour, who helped her to stand up to the workmen.

But he said everyone needed to be alert to the dangers of allowing work to be carried out by door-to-door tradesmen. "Clearly, there are dangers attached to agreeing to have work done by people who cold call in this manner," said DI Hunt.

"Making unsolicited visits and using high-pressure selling tactics is typical of those who seem to prey on the elderly.

"The public in general really do need to be aware that these people will give no written estimate.

"Often the final cost is far more than was originally quoted and in some cases can be very much higher.

"I would urge members of the public to be on their guard against this kind of sharp practice.

"No one should be pressured into having work done they did not originally wish to have done.

"If people do have this sort of problem, they can always contact the police for help."

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