THE son of an elderly Bromsgrove couple swindled out of thousands of pounds by rogue roofers has warned the town's residents to be on their guard for scammers.

The couple, both in their 80s, have been conned out of £4,500 by three men offering to repair the roof of their Kidderminster Road house last week.

Police have confirmed they had received two reports of such instances in recent days and the son of the victims says the tricksters were extremely convincing.

Requesting anonymity to protect his parents' identity being revealed to other potential scammers, he said: "It seems to have been an absolutely classic door-knock scam.

"I'm surprised my dad got took in by these fraudsters because he is no fool.

"He thought they were working for [another company] who were doing a job down the road.

"They said it would cost £800 but then after they went up on the roof, the price went up to £4,500.

"They tried to say £16,000 at one point and I think my dad just got lost amid the bartering and negotiations and he gave them the money up front sadly.

"One of the guys was the 'boss man', he did the talking and kept pecking away at my dad.

"He's a bit embarrassed and feels stupid - it's not fair that he should feel like that as he's earned his money and these people have just completely taken advantage of him."

The scam has prompted the son to set up a Roofing Fraud Bromsgrove community page on Facebook and he hopes someone might have dashcam footage of the three men.

The men's white van was stationed on the part of Kidderminster Road near to Sanders Park between 10am-5.30pm on Wednesday, October 16 and 10am-4pm on Thursday, October 17.

"Somebody must have driven behind their van at some point and has footage of the van or the men," the son added.

Bromsgrove Police confirmed they were investigating the incident.

A statement said: "Officers are warning the community to be vigilant to rogue traders calling door to door offering building and home improvement including roof repairs for unnecessary work at inflated prices.

"Recently, we have received a report of a home in Kidderminster Road, Bromsgrove being visited by cold callers and the residents making payment for roof repair works that have not taken place.

"A further home within Kidderminster Road was approached for maintenance and building work to their property, but after seeing warnings on social media they turned the potential scammers away."

Inspector Mark Chappell added: “It’s unfortunate that not everyone who calls at the door is genuine or who they claim to be and we want the local community to be vigilant to such rogue traders.

“We would urge people to be on their guard as we don’t want them to be duped out of their money.

“Our message is don’t be pressurised into paying for work, take your time and do your research before entering into an agreement and always be cautious when being asked to pay up front.

“Often the offenders will target elderly or vulnerable people, they can be incredibly convincing and worry them into thinking it is absolutely necessary for the work to be carried out and we would urge anyone who does have an elderly or vulnerable relative, friend or neighbour to make sure they’re aware that these people are not always as genuine as they seem.”

Anyone with information about the rogue roofers can call police on 101 or Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111 quoting the crime number 02125 221019.