A large amount of money was stolen from a woman's bank account after she handed her card to a rogue trader.

The incident is just one of two rogue trader incidents that happened on Saturday (August 1) in the Borehamwood and Shenley area.

In the first incident, a woman living in Alexandra Road, Well End, opened her door to a man who told her that her guttering was blocked and offered to fix it for £50. She agreed.

When the man finished the work, he asked for the victim's card and PIN number so he could take the payment from a card machine in his van. But the man then went to a cash point and removed a large amount of money from her account.

In the second incident, a man approached a resident in Wickets End, Shenley, and offered to clean her guttering to which the woman agreed and paid him £50 for the work.

The man then pushed her for more money for clearing a wasp’s nest and replacing broken tiles. The resident refused and the man left.

Police investigating both incidents believe the two may be linked and have urged residents to be vigilant when opening their door to a stranger.

The offender is described as a white man, in his mid-20s, with short dark hair that had shaved sides. He was wearing grey shorts, a black Adidas T-shirt with grey stripes, white socks and black ‘slider’ sandals.

He was said to be driving a 52 registration blue Volvo estate car.

Safer Neighbourhood Sergeant Matt Cann said: “I’d be keen to hear from anyone who may live in these areas who have witnessed this man carrying out work on the properties, as well as anyone who may have been approached by him.

“I’d also urge people to be aware of this type of crime. Never give your card and pin number to anyone and please take note of the following advice.”

Police provided some advice to help people protect themselves from rogue traders:

  • If someone calls at your door offering to do some work for you, do not agree to the work there and then or part with any cash.
  • Don’t take their word that the work needs to be done. Ask for a written quote on headed paper and if you think it does need to be done then get quotes from other local companies or ask friends and relatives for a recommendation.
  • If you are in doubt, take information and contact Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 03454 04 05 06 to check their legitimacy.

Anyone with any information is asked to report it online at herts.police.uk/report, speak to an operator via an online web chat at herts.police.uk/contact, or call the non-emergency number 101, quoting crime reference 41/60896/20 (Borehamwood incident) or 41/61175/20 (Shenley incident).

Alternatively, you can report information anonymously by contacting charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via their online form at crimestoppers-uk.org.