Residents advised to beware as door knockers target people living in Sleights near Whitby

In a statement on their Facebook page, a spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police – Scarborough Borough said: “Door knockers have been operating in the Sleights area recently, an organised group that travel from village to village trying to get you to buy their wares.

“These people prey on our elderly and vulnerable, they will spin a story that they have just come out of prison and are trying to go straight or that they are just out of the army and trying to find work.

“They prey on emotions to get you to buy their goods, goods which are poor quality but are being sold to you at highly inflated prices.

“These people will have a home-made I.D. badge on them. Any genuine seller must get a ‘Pedlar’s Certificate’ in order to sell.

"These are issued by the police and are not issued to anyone with a police record.

“Please, do not buy from these people. If they come to your area please report it to us straight away either on 101 or by the online reporting tool.

“If you have elderly or vulnerable neighbours that may not see this advice, please tell them not to buy on the doorstep and share this advice with your friends.”

If you see anything suspicious, or have any concerns about an unexpected caller, you can contact police via the onlone reporting tool which may be found at www.northyorkshire.police.uk/ro/report/ocr/af/how-to-report-a-crime/.