A rogue trader who conned an East Hampshire woman out of £2,500 has been imprisoned for three years after a plea for more cash led to his downfall.

Doorstep scammer Paul Tapp deceived two people out of hefty sums after convincing them to pay for guttering work during a three-day spell in July 2022.

The victims included a 60-something from Horndean and a man in his 80s from Fareham on the verge of handing over £36,000.

The 42-year-old from Hatfield, Hertfordshire, was jailed for three years on Monday (June 16) at Portsmouth Crown Court after previously pleading guilty to two counts of fraud by false representation.

Both cases started at the doorstep with Tapp telling the Horndean woman she needed her guttering replaced and quoted £5,500 for the work.

The victim paid out £2,500 on the day in cash with the remainder being requested via bank transfer and cheque. But a next day phone call urging her to visit the bank and get more money made her suspicious, prompting her to contact Action Fraud and cancel the transfer.

The Fareham incident was similar with Tapp knocking on the door of a pensioner and requesting a £5,000 deposit, which was paid but no work was carried out.

The court heard: “Tapp returned the next day where and requested for a further £5,000 payment for materials.

“He also submitted an invoice for £36,000 for work to be done on the garage gutters.

“On returning the third day, more money was paid, and the victim was told that if the bank called him about the payments he was making, he should tell them that the money was going to his ‘son in law’.

“A cleaner at the property became suspicious of Tapp and called the victim’s son, who in turn called police.”

Tapp was arrested at the scene and the trail unravelled, with the scammer admitting to pair of charges in April.

DC Josh Seaman, who investigated this case, said: “Rogue traders and doorstep criminals routinely prey on the elderly and vulnerable members of our community.

“They often use confusion tactics or coercion in order to extort them out of vast sums of money.

“In this case, Tapp attempted to defraud one person out of £36,000 and another out of £5,500.

“Criminals like Tapp are a blight on our community, but it is down to community spirit and community intelligence that we can drive these offenders out of our areas.

“We urge people to continue to report suspicious activity to the police, to look out for your vulnerable neighbours, friends or relatives, and to report crime to Action Fraud or the police.”

“We encourage people to read the advice and information on doorstep crime on our website, and share with anyone you feel could benefit from reading.”

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