ELDERLY victims of doorstep crime are to receive extra help thanks to a new agreement between trading standards official and Victim Support volunteers.

Victim Support branches across Lancashire will now swing into action when trading standards officers alert them to elderly people being targeted by dodgy builders or crooked salesmen.

The agreement, signed on Monday, includes a commitment by trading standards officers to train volunteers on how crooks operate.

Chief trading standards officer Jim Potts says: "Door-step crime can be the most heart-breaking types of crime as often it involves targeting older people.

"These criminals often gain the trust of their victims before they rip them off.

"We had one pensioner who was charged £18,000 for very poor double-glazing and another who was cold-called by an orthopaedic bed sales-man who took a woman to her bank to withdraw £3,000.

"Even worse, doorstep conmen often pass victims' details to each other so the person doesn't know which way to turn. It is one of the cruellest crimes as it can destroy the trust that older people have."

Pat Morgan, assistant chief executive of Victim Support, says the new initiative will at least ensure that crime victims can talk to someone.

"We can also put doorstep crime in perspective for them. There is nothing worse than living in fear of every knock on the door," she adds.