Residents in Hart are being warned to be on their guard against cold callers after an incident in Odiham.

Following a report to Trading Standards Quick Response Team and Hampshire Constabulary by an active Neighbourhood Watch member about cold callers offering to complete repairs to a house in Archery Fields, police officers were present when the offenders returned the following day and a number of arrests were made.

One person has now been charged and is currently in custody awaiting trial.  A number of others have been released on bail.

Officers from the Hart Safer Neighbourhoods Team and Neighbourhood Watch are now reminding residents to be alert to cold callers, who often target people they perceive as elderly, vulnerable or living alone. They can be intimidating characters who often ask for cash and will even offer to take you to your bank in order to collect payment.

Residents are advised that if approached in these circumstances, ask to have a neighbour with you or a friend and refuse to allow any work to be undertaken. If they are persistent, or refuse to listen, call 999.  Police and Trading Standards have encountered circumstances when extremely large sums of money have been conned out of victims through these types of offences and they will always treat your complaint seriously.

Hampshire Constabulary’s Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinator, Sue Gibson, said: “This is a wonderful example of what Neighbourhood Watch is all about and why they are the major working partner with the police in trying to deter criminal activity. Odiham Neighbourhood Watch, run by Sally Tunstell, were completely on the ball with this incident and helped to save a homeowner from being conned out of a large amount of money.”

Sally Tunstell, chief co-ordinator of Odiham Neighbourhood Watch, said: “I think that we have had a very successful outcome, thanks to the vigilance of members of the Neighbourhood Watch, and the fact that information was passed to the right people at the right time. Due to excellent work by both police and Trading Standards at least five people have been caught and are being dealt with. I am thrilled to see that when we all ‘pull’ together, we can achieve some amazing results."

PC Vicky Bolan, from the Odiham Safer Neighbourhoods Team, said: “We have had some excellent results, and will hopefully be bringing a number of offenders to justice through the court system. This is thanks to intelligence passed to us by members of the public.

“As police we understand that people are reluctant to pass information to us for fear of repercussions, however information can be dealt with confidentially and anonymously, and so we would urge anyone who has information on crimes to phone in and tell us.

“Thanks to brave members of the public and information sharing by Neighbourhood Watch and police we have prevented other crimes and taken offenders off the streets. I hope this continues to happen so more people can be brought to justice.”