Trading standards officers across East Anglia and the south east have promised a crackdown on dodgy workmen.

They agreed, at a conference in Chelmsford, to pool intelligence to beat what Essex trading standards says are criminal workmen who offer to resurface drives or lay down block paving, and then demand excessively high payments, often with menaces, for low quality work.

Steve Lynch, of Essex trading standards, said: "It can be difficult to track these criminals because they are in an area for a very short time or live a considerable distance away.

"By pooling our intelligence with our colleagues we will be able to use our resources more effectively and will be able to take action when cowboys are operating in an area.

"These people prey on the elderly and vulnerable. They use blackmail, burglary, theft, intimidation and deception to get extortionate payments for shoddy work.

"Their techniques are becoming more sophisticated and they can be very credible. They drive official looking vans and dress smartly.

"They scan the papers for public notices and know when genuine roadworks are taking place in an area.

"Genuine contractors working for utility companies or local authorities never have any material left over."

The conference was attended by trading standards officers from eastern and south eastern counties, unitary authorities, and London boroughs.

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