EAST Lancashire residents have been warned about dodgy doorstep callers offering roofing and guttering repair work.

There has been a spate of incidents reported in Hyndburn, Rossendale and Pendle

They are among multiple cold call incidents reported to Lancashire County Council’s Trading Standards Department in the last few weeks.

High-pressure doorstep sales tactics are being used on homeowners to persuade people to pay for poor goods or services.

A county council spokesman said: “There has been a spate of reports received from the Hyndburn, Rossendale and Pendle areas for roofing and guttering repair work.

“Prices have increased after the work has started and householders have been unable to trace traders to fix shoddy work as they received no paperwork and hence no address details of the traders.

“The best advice is to get a written quote before agreeing to any work and remember for most contracts agreed at your home you should be given a 14 day cooling off period in writing.”

In addition there have been reports of scam Amazon calls, static caravan owners being approached by rogue traders selling floor insulation, online adverts for companies offering to supply carpets on easy payment terms, and fraudsters posing as court enforcement officers and bailiffs,

Cllr Albert Atkinson, county trading standards boss, said: “Everyone should be aware of cold callers and we advise that the public always say no.They use tactics like persistent phone calls or visits, which pressure vulnerable people into paying for work that is carried out to a poor standard or does not get completed.”

He is also advising people to avoid maintenance contracts on previously installed solar panels and warned of doorstep callers selling household goods while falsely claiming to be on a ‘pre-release’ scheme from Kirkham Prison and trying to ‘turn their lives around’.