CALLOUS conmen are cashing in on the wet weather to cheat their way into people's homes, reports Ruth Lythe.

Downpours over the last few weeks have not only made summer in South Lakeland a washout but have also provided perfect conditions for unwelcome callers with sinister motives.

Police warned this week that a side effect of all the wet weather had been to create a tailor-made excuse for bogus company representatives to target householders.

Cumbria police said that there have been two reports of people claiming to be from utilities companies trying to enter elderly people's homes in the Kendal area on August 17 and August 18.

Police spokesman Greg Stephenson said that the callers had asked the occupants to make appointments to inspect their electricity or water supply because of the bad weather.

But when the occupants checked the callers' identities with the companies they discovered the visitors were bogus.

Crime prevention officer Terry Belshaw said that wet weather gave potential fraudsters an opportunity to "jump on the bandwagon", and target the elderly, but he stressed that the crime was relatively rare in South Lakeland. He said: "Normally there are two people involved, one person keeps the elderly person occupied whereas the accomplice is very rarely seen by the householder. The bogus trader goes in but fails to shut the door properly allowing the accomplice to go up to where the money or jewellery is kept."

He warned that householders should not worry about offending unexpected callers but if in doubt they should be sure to check their identity with the company.

Mr Belshaw added: "People should remember that the best safeguard against this sort of crime is the front door. No legitimate person will mind waiting on the doorstep while their credentials are checked but you should not use the telephone number on the card they produce but the one on your bill."

Director of Age Concern South Lakeland Sonia Mangan said that elderly people should try to avoid making their homes easily identifiable to bogus traders.

She said: "Old people can be identified by curtains with a 1970s print, or a garden that is not as neat as others in the street, or perhaps they have a smaller dustbin. These rogue traders are incredibly clever and drive along a street looking at houses for likely targets."

She added that victims should be sure to contact the police and alert agencies such as Age Concern or Trading Standards so that others can be warned.

Pat Thomas of Cumbria Trading Standards said: "Genuine traders never act like this - when was the last time that you heard of a proper builder cold calling and offering to fix guttering? Anybody acting like this immediately raises my suspicions."

For more information call Cumbria Trading Standards on 01539-773577 or Age Concern South Lakeland on 01539-728118.