WHEN you're elderly and unable to drive, a taxi can be a lifeline for simple tasks like doing your shopping and going to the bank.

And across Dorset, taxi drivers are being encouraged to go the extra mile for their elderly clients by watching out for scam artists who persuade them to withdraw stacks of cash from the bank to pay them for dodgy services.

John Crabb, of J Crabb Taxis, who has several elderly customers, has started warning them of the dangers posed by cold callers asking for cash since one of his passengers fell foul of their tricks.

He often drives the elderly lady, who lives near Sturminster Newton, to the bank and then to do her shopping, but on this occasion, she asked him to take her straight home from the bank and pick her up again 20 minutes later.

"I didn't realise she'd taken out a lot more money than she does normally, about £1,800," he said.

"I'm sorry to say she had a cold caller, who said to her he'd come back later, if she had the cash. She gave him the money and he disappeared.

"When I returned, she said they were coming back to do her drive, but I said, 'They're not.' She was very, very upset. They're such evil people."

The lady did not tell Mr Crabb about the cold callers before she handed over the money, and he wishes he had realised what had been going on.

"If she'd told me, I'd have said to her that she didn't have that sort of money," he said.

"I advise my customers now that if anyone comes and offers to do work, they should call me."

He added that this has become very popular in the countryside - in fact, one of his other customers was also approached, but told the caller that Mr Crabb was coming, and he disappeared.

"Taxi drivers who are picking up an elderly lady should look after her," said Mr Crabb.

"Elderly people have a lot of money, and that's why these people come after them."

Dorset County Council's divisional trading standards manager, Ivan Hancock, said his office has been working with bank staff and taxi drivers across the county, encouraging them to look out for elderly people withdrawing large amounts of cash to pay workmen.

"Responsible, alert and well-informed taxi drivers can be of enormous benefit to customers, to alert them to problems they know about going on in a certain area because they hear stories from people," he said.

"Hopefully, if they see someone going out to take their life savings out, it's not unreasonable for them to say, 'Are you sure you should be paying out lots of money? Have a word with trading standards.'"

First published: September 24