A KNOCK on the door by a smartly dressed salesman turned sinister for an 82-year-old Bournemouth woman living on her own last month.

The unsuspecting pensioner welcomed the caller's offer of tree surgery and paid him £60 in advance, only to have him disappear with her cash.

This type of conman thinks nothing of preying on the elderly or vulnerable for his own financial gain.

While Dorset Police have helped lock up some of the most prolific swindlers - including "Fiddler on the Roof" Roy Williams, who fleeced a Broadstone pensioner for £2,000 - other predators are still operating in the area.

And The Daily Echo wants your help to make this stop.

Our "Don't Knock It" campaign aims to give our elderly and vulnerable residents the knowledge and protection they need to say no to cold calling salesmen on their doorstep.

We want our readers to pass this information on to elderly friends and relatives.

And we have also joined forces with the Trading Standards Institute to ask you to sign coupons supporting our plea to the government to get cold calling for home repairs banned altogether.

The coupons will be printed in further editions of The Daily Echo as the campaign continues and will be sent to the government, which is currently considering whether to bring in new legislation to combat the cold calling menace.

This could involve a ban on cold calling to thwart those offering property repairs and other home services.

Ron Gainsford, chief executive of the Trading Standards Institute, said: "We are in no doubt that a ban on traders who cold call to offer property services would be very effective in tackling the problem of bogus traders.

"In fact, we can think of no other alternative to combat this growing and serious area of criminality."

Our campaign also has the backing of Help the Aged, Dorset Police and MPs across the county.

Mid Dorset and North Poole MP Annette Brooke, the Liberal Democrat spokeswoman for victim support, welcomed the move.

As well as the "Fiddler on the Roof" series, in which Williams, from Broadstone, and his accomplice Anthony Bolt persuaded the elderly to part with their cash for unnecessary house repairs, Dorset saw a number of violent attacks against the elderly in the past year.

In these cases, robbers burst into the homes of elderly people and stole their money, and detectives say these criminals may have known who to target by getting information from bogus traders who had previously visited the homes.

Dorset Police's Chief Constable, Jane Stichbury, said: "Dorset Police is keen to ensure that tough action is taken against bogus callers - purporting to offer a service - who then take the opportunity to prey on more vulnerable or unsuspecting members of society."

First published: Sept 7