ROGUE traders who conned an elderly Thornbury man out of £3,000 were caught by police after the victim's granddaughter trapped them when they returned to strike again.

Faye Smele, from Charfield, was waiting for the two conmen – who said they were from a roofing firm based in Westbury-on-Trym – when they returned to her grandfather’s house on Tuesday.

The 42-year-old said: “They told my granddad that they were going to return on Tuesday, so I parked on a drive a few houses down and waited for them to turn up.

"After just over an hour, the van turned up and I parked my car across the road to block them in and called the police."

She remained in her car and refused to move the vehicle despite the conmen shouting at her.

When the police arrived they arrested one of the men, but the other fled the scene. The van was seized.

“I’m quite proud of myself. Hopefully now that someone has stood up to them and they’ve been caught and had one of their vans taken they won’t be back," Faye added.

“At least the police know who to keep an eye on and people in the area are aware that people like this are out there trying to take money from vulnerable people.

“The police have been brilliant and very helpful.

"As soon as I called them on Tuesday they came down with their helicopter and arrested one of the men and took his van.”

Faye was on holiday when her grandfather was first approached by the men, who offered to repair the roof on his home.

He was billed £4,700 for the work and handed over £3,000 then and there.

She found out about it on her return at the end of last week and immediately contacted the police and Trading Standards to try and resolve the issue.

“They obviously felt my granddad was an easy target,” she said. “When I got back from holiday and heard what had happened, I knocked on the doors of other people who live in his road and luckily one woman wrote down the number plate of the van that came round."

An Avon and Somerset Police spokesman said that after receiving reports of rogue traders operating in the area they had arrested one man on suspicion of fraud offences and criminal damage.

Another man fled from police officers and the force has appealed for public help in tracking him down.

He is described as white, aged in his late teens or early twenties, 6ft tall with a skinny build with short brown hair and freckles. He was wearing a burgundy hoodie with a grey horizontal stripe and burgundy combat trousers.

Anyone with any information which could help the police investigation is asked to call 101 referencing log 288 of July 14.