Police are urging residents to be aware of rogue traders after two incidents last week.

Officers have been alerted by Trading Standards over two incidents reported to have occured on Friday July 11 in the Sevenoaks area.

There are now calls for people to take extra steps to protect themselves from the scams.

In the New Ash Green area a man is reported to have been knocking on doors in an effort to persuade people to purchase a personal alarm system.

Claiming that the product is worth £500 and that the fitting is free, he then tried to sell an accompanying maintenance agreement.

On the same day reports have been received of a rogue trader visiting homes in the Sutton-at-Hone area.

"Sadly, it is often the elderly or vulnerable people who are duped into getting work done that they do not need and which is often of substandard quality or even left unfinished" - Chief Inspector Tim Cook

The man, described as white, driving a white transit van and wearing a high visibility jacket, falsely claims to be from Kent County Council’s Highways department and has been offering to lay driveways with material left over from resurfacing the local roads.

Sevenoaks chief inspector Tim Cook has warned residents to remain on guard against rogue traders who turn up on their doorsteps touting for business.

He said: "Sadly, it is often the elderly or vulnerable people who are duped into getting work done that they do not need and which is often of substandard quality or even left unfinished.

"The safest policy to prevent this from happening is to simply not deal with people who knock on your door offering work on your home or garden."

Kent Police would urge residents to take the following steps to make sure they are protected from rogue traders:

• Do not deal with doorstep callers offering work on your home or garden
• Use reputable traders who are members of Buy with Confidence, Trust a Trader or the Gas Safe Register
• Ask for quotes in writing and check that the tradesperson is from the company they say they are from
• Ring more than three traders to get a feel for an average price for the job
• Remember that traders must give you written notice of your right to seven days cancellation when agreeing to do work at your home, including work gained from a cold call

Officers are asking people to call 101 to report any problems.