RESIDENTS in the Bradford district need to be on their guard to prevent "disgraceful" doorstep con-artists preying on elderly and vulnerable neighbours, West Yorkshire Trading Standards (WYTS) has warned.

Officers are urging people to remain vigilant after reports of rogue traders who cold call and then offer to carry-out repairs which are often poor quality, unnecessary and charged at extortionate prices.

In some cases, victims have reported being threatened or even being driven to the bank to withdraw money for the work.

Promoted to coincide with National Consumer Week, which ends tomorrow, the 'Good Neighbours Stop Rogue Traders' campaign encourages neighbours, friends, families, and carers to nominate themselves to stop rogue traders in their tracks.

Bradford councillor Val Slater, who is also chairman of the WYTS Committee, said: "Rogue traders are a huge problem across West Yorkshire and have a devastating effect on their victims.

"We can educate people not to fall into the trap of these fraudsters and to look out for those who may be more vulnerable in our communities.”

The new campaign, a partnership between West Yorkshire Trading Standards, the Trading Standards Institute (TSI), Citizens Advice and the National Trading Standards Board, is designed to take away the trader's ability to directly contact residents deemed to be at-risk.

Nominated neighbours give elderly or vulnerable members of the community a postcard for their front door featuring the nominee's address and phone number, informing cold-calling doorstep traders to speak with them on the resident's behalf.

David Lodge, head of WYTS, said: "It’s disgraceful that some traders rip people off on their own doorstep, and preventing con-artists from doing damage in the first place is crucial.

"We want people to be on the lookout for doorstep crime in their community to help stop neighbours falling foul of rogues.

"We’ll continue to crack down on illegal practices in West Yorkshire, bring rogue traders to justice, and help victims to move on."

There are up to 170,000 incidents of doorstep crime across Britain every year, and TSI chief executive Leon Livermore said the new campaign aimed to give "power back to communities" that have been blighted by rogue traders.

"While Trading Standards officers strive to track down and prosecute rogue traders, community intervention is the first step in preventing detriment caused by doorstep crime," he said.

"The 'Good Neighbours Stop Rogue Traders' campaign highlights the impact community-spirit and the goodness of neighbours, friends and relatives can have in making Britain a safer place."

An event to educate people over the dangers of scams, fraud and door step crime will take place throughout today at the Carers' Resource centre in Shipley, and the new 'Nominate a Neighbour' postcards can be downloaded free from the TSI website.

Anyone who has been a victim of doorstep crime, or knows of others that have been affected, should contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 03454 040506.