Woman tells Lymington neighbourhood police team she was repeatedly threatened by rogue traders who targeted her 85-year-old father in Sway

Rogue traders repeatedly threatened to hurt a woman trying to protect her elderly father from being scammed, a police meeting has heard.

Margot Grimwood told how four men in a van had turned up at her 85-year-old father’s house in Sway and offered to do him a “special deal” – then demanded he pay £1,000 to have his roof cleaned.

She was speaking at a public meeting with the Lymington and New Milton neighbourhood police team on Tuesday evening.

She said: “When I got there, I asked them what did they think they were doing? They said jetwashing the roof and then painting it with some special stuff, although I don’t that anything was actually put on it.

“I tried to cancel the work, but they said they had already started. I also rang Trading Standards but the main guy, who was over 6ft tall and solid build, threatened me to say I would get hurt if I didn’t pay.

“I felt rather scared, and my father is very vulnerable. He was very intimidating, and I was very worried about my father.

“The man demanded I did a bank transfer. I went on my banking app; I was planning that while making the payment, when the message came up about could this be a scam, I would press ‘yes’ and I hoped that would alert someone and then someone would come to our aid.

“But the man stood over me, and when that message did come up, he told me ‘If you press ‘yes’ I will cause you physical harm’.”

Ms Grimwood said the four men then surrounded her saying that if she dialled 999 “something bad was going to happen” to her.

They then took off and “in anger” she tried to follow them. Ms Grimwood said: “The man turned the van around and came back to me. He wound the window down and told me that they knew where my father lived, and they would harm him if I reported it to the police.”

Sgt Leigh Brown told Ms Grimwood that she should have dialled 999 while the men were at her father’s house, but she replied: “When you have four men surrounding you, you don’t know what is going to happen to you.”

She said she has since reported it to police and had also posted details about the incident including descriptions of the men and photos of the van they were driving on a local Facebook page.

She said: “I have been contacted by people who have had similar things happen to them, but they are too intimidated to go to the police. How can we get people like this caught?”

Sgt Brown said the incident involving her father would be fully investigated.

Later, Lymington and New Milton neighbourhood police posted on social media warning people not to engage with rogue traders and to call 999 if they felt threatened.

Their message said: “Rogue traders often target vulnerable people, especially the elderly and lonely to take advantage of them often cold calling at resident’s doors convincing them that urgent work needs to be done.

They will use intimidating behaviour and quite often demand cash up front. Do not pay cash up front, especially if they have not done any work.

“If you are aware of an elderly neighbour and or are aware of any vulnerabilities and see trades vehicles parked outside their address call 101 and report to police.

“We are happy if available to attend in the first instance and will liaise with both resident/s and traders to ensure all is well.

“Do not approach yourself as this may heighten tensions it would be better to observe from a distance and note things like vehicles/ number plates photographic if possible and if safe to do so and finally clothing/descriptions.”

This comes after a New Milton resident was nearly fleeced out of £2,500 by similar offender offering roofing and driveway repair services.

The victim was reportedly on the verge of parting with the cash, but was able to cancel the payment before it went through.