A DARTFORD grandmother says she felt suicidal after being scammed out of £75 by a cold caller who promised to fix her mobility scooter.

Jacqueline Barber, 64, was busy doing her washing at her two bedroom terraced council home in Attlee Drive when a man knocked on the door and asked if she needed any jobs doing.

The grandmother-of-five had been having trouble with her mobility scooter so agreed to give the caller £75 to fix it.

The man, described as being in his early 30s and around 5ft 9in tall with short hair and an unshaven face, wanted £50 for a part and £25 to go and pick up a friend in West Kingsdown who could help him mend the scooter.

He even told his victim she would have to pay labour costs on top of that - but never came back to collect them.

Mrs Barber suffers from fibromyalgia and says she has been unable to work for more than a decade.

The widow told News Shopper: "Afterwards I felt I could take all my tablets and just do away with myself it had got me down so much.

"I’m a trusting person and people have used me all my life. He’s hurt me big time and I could do with the money in my old age."

The former nurse claims she can ill afford to lose the cash as her income amounts to just £305 a month disability living allowance, £140 a month from her pension and around £100 from her deceased husband Raymond’s private pension.

She added: "There is so much I can’t do for myself and I can only walk a couple of feet. I have got a stair lift and a bath chair.

"I have been using a scooter for 10 years and the one I have now is my lifeline for getting around but it still hasn’t been fixed."

Kent Police confirmed they are investigating the alleged incident which happened between 10am and 11am on January 27.