Three dodgy dealers have been jailed for a total of 57 months after scamming a 60 year old man out of £6,000 in Dartford.

Orpington-based David Vincent Sr, 50, his 26 year old son of the same name, and John Baker, 36, knocked on the victim's door in November 2017 and told him he had pigeons in his roof.

Vincent Jr then convinced the man his roof was rotten and needed replacing, charging £1,000 for next-day repairs.

After he handed over the money, the men then asked the man for another £5,000 to repair rain damage in the roof. He handed the money over and was promised work would start the following day.

When the men returned to the house, they told the man his loft was also infested with rats, claiming they needed more money on the spot to fix the problem.

After contacting his insurance company to cover the cost of the work, which was steadily piling up, he was told to call the police. The three traders were then arrested.

Appearing at Maidstone Crown Court on Friday, April 27, the men all pleaded guilty to fraud.

Vincent Sr and Baker were each jailed for 21 months, while Vincent Jr received an 18 month sentence.

Investigating officer, DC Iain Joyce, said: "All three targeted the victim again and again, each time coming up with even more elaborate excuses to convince the victim to hand over more cash.

"They abused his trust and showed no regard for the impact of their actions.

"Our officers worked alongside Trading Standards to bring all three men to justice and ensure they couldn’t defraud anyone further in such a malicious way.

"If you suspect rogue traders are operating in your area, or you believe a neighbour or someone on your street is a victim of rogue trading, please call us on 101, of if the suspects are still at the scene call 999."