Financial criminals are targeting Wimbledon residents, Britain’s leading fraud watchdog has warned.

Last week the SW19 postcode was named as one of the country’s 10 hotspots for facility takeover crimes - scams where the criminal hijacks and takes money from his victim’s account.

The list was published on June 30 by the Credit Industry Fraud Avoidance System (CIFAS), an non-profit organisation fighting financial crime.

Others on the most targeted list included three other London postcodes - Croydon, East Ham and Battersea.

CIFAS research manager Sarah Peaston said: "London is a city of dense population where material wealth and disadvantage can be found in close proximity.

“It is therefore perhaps unsurprising that the most active fraud hotspots should be centred around the London area.”