DETECTIVES are investigating after a couple in Stanford le Hope were duped out of a thousand pounds by a conman, claiming that the roof of the property needed urgent repairs.
Around midday on Wednesday, June 11 a man using the name of Jonathan Roberts attended the home address of an elderly vulnerable couple and convinced them they needed some work doing to their roof. They couple paid the man £1,000 to fix their roof, which he was due to do the following day, but he never returned.
The suspect is described as a white, over 6ft tall, athletic build, and with short dark hair. He was wearing a baseball cap, T shirt and shorts. He had a very unusual tattoo on his left lower arm with the words ‘I can do all things through Christ’.
Ds Eileen Mullins said: “This was a dreadful thing to do to a vulnerable couple and we are warning people to think twice before accepting an offers of work from people knocking on your door.”
Anyone who knows who this man is or has any other information about people offering building work in the area is urged to contact Ds Mullins at Grays CID on 101.