Residents are being warned after someone pretending to work for Sutton Council tried to get a vulnerable resident to pay them £3,000 for ‘emergency’ drainage works.

Sutton Police said on Friday, February 2, that the victim was targeted by a ‘bogus’ caller who claimed to be carrying out the project on the council’s behalf.

They asked for money to be paid into a Halifax account so work could be completed.

A Met Police spokesman said: “The caller at their door said they were working for a subcontractor of the council and that there had been a toilet overflow at the local [unnamed] school and this was affecting the area, so they needed to jet clean their drains.

“The resident thought this sounded fishy and delayed the caller so that they could visit the school who were able to confirm they had no plumbing problems.

“Once the caller found this out they wisely reported it to police and receive support from Sutton and Kingston’s shared trading standards service.”

Sutton Police is asking residents to contact the council if they are unsure the caller is legitimate on 0208 770 5000.