Ban on cold callers to comfort elderly
COLD-CALLERS will be banned from thousands of homes in North Wales from next week onwards.
Safety groups have grown increasingly concerned about the risk to elderly residents from door-to-door salesmen.
As a result, estates comprising hundreds of homes in Denbighshire and Conwy are to become off-limits to cold callers in a pilot scheme, to be rolled out across the force's central division if it proves successful.
The warnings apply to all cold-callers, from salesmen to Jehovah's Witnesses.
Signs are to be put up around the Trewen and Mytton Park areas of Denbigh and Bryn Newydd in Prestatyn, and parts of Rhos on Sea, Abergele and Colwyn Heights.
And warnings will be placed on residents' doors to alert cold callers they are unwelcome.
The scheme is backed by the areas' Community Safety Partnerships, made up of groups including police, Neighbourhood Watch Groups, social services and trading standards.
Bryan Jennings, district co-ordinator for Lower Denbigh Neighbourhood Watch, said: "The main idea is to stop bogus callers coming round.
"At the moment, anybody can call round, which can often be intimidating for elderly people. They could be there trying to sell them things or offering to repair roofs which do not need repairing.
"A 93-year-old woman can be left quite frightened by strangers coming round. It does not happen very often fortunately, but we want to make sure it does not happen at all."
Residents will be taught what to do when confronted on the doorstep, and who to contact if they are victims of cold-calling.
Staff in banks and building societies will also be taught how to react if an elderly person withdraws a large amount of money at once.
Earlier this summer, authorities in Denbighshire warned callers were offering to help residents with minor housework and then demanding as much as £80. Two other men also offered to mow someone's lawn for £170.
And in June, residents were warned to be on guard because of a bogus gasman in the Prestatyn area.
Denbighshire councillor Pauline Dobb, cabinet lead member for health and well-being, said: "This is yet another initiative created as part of the older people's strategy, with the focus on making people safe in their own homes and deterring unwanted callers from visiting.
"This new pilot scheme will offer peace of mind to those people that may be targeted by callers about what to do and who to contact if they are concerned or suspicious about callers visiting their homes. "