Rogue traders are making the rounds in Broad Green and Selhurst.

The latest incident involved a person nearly being scammed out of £4000, if not for a quick-thinking bank cashier.

The traders arrived at the house, claiming that, while they were working on the neighbour’s roof, they had discovered water was getting into the property from next door, and they were keen to investigate the cause.

With the householder’s permission, they went up into the loft to look at the roof from the inside.

They claimed there was a hole in the roof where a number of tiles had become dislodged.

The householder pointed out that he had not seen any damp patches, water stains or evidence of leaks in the roof, despite recent wet weather, but was told the wooden rafters were rotten, causing the tiles to come loose, and it would cost £10,000 to replace the roof.

Alarmed, he agreed to the work, and was told that he would have to hand over a deposit of £4,000 before a start could be made. It was while the householder was withdrawing the cash that the bank worker’s suspicions were aroused.

Now Croydon Council's trading standards team are warning others not to fall into the same trap.

“This was a close call for this particular resident, and it’s thanks to the quick thinking of bank staff that he didn’t lose thousands of pounds," Councillor Haminda Ali said.

“And lose it he probably would have, as it’s very likely that, after he’d handed over the cash, he would never see those cold callers again.

“I’d urge everybody to follow the advice of our trading standards team and, if you have an elderly or vulnerable relative or neighbour, be vigilant and keep an eye open for the possibility of rogue traders seeking to take advantage of their situation.”