A couple in their 80s paid hundreds of pounds to "mean" bogus callers who gave them scraps of carpet but never returned to fit them.
The two men turned up at their Simons Lane home in Colchester and told the elderly residents they had been working on a building site nearby.
They said they had pieces of carpet left over and asked the couple if they wanted them fitted for £800.
The victims of the con went to their bank in High Street with the callers, took out the money and paid them but the men, who said they would be back later, drove away in a red transit panel van and never returned.
Det Sgt Roy Clark, of Colchester CID, condemned the crime as "mean".
Det Sgt Clark appealed for witnesses to the con, which happened at 11.30am yesterday, to call 01206 762212 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111
Published Thursday, March 7, 2002
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