ORGANISED groups of people claiming to be disabled, destitute or homeless have arrived in West Somerset to target vulnerable residents, police warned this week.

There have been numerous reports of people knocking on doors in Williton, Minehead, Dunster, Washford, Carhampton and Cotford St Luke with hard-luck stories and asking for money in exchange for usually worthless goods.

Posts on social media described incidents where elderly people have been confronted by persistent callers.

One read: “My neighbour gave away money she could ill-afford to someone who said her children had nothing to eat, only to see her get into a smart car and drive away.”

Another resident posted: “I”ve just had a woman with a card saying she was deaf and would I buy her drawings? It was pretty obvious she understood everything I said.”

Minehead PC Sam Donati, who has monitored a rise in possible scams, said that gangs move from district to district: “Recently it was Taunton, now it’s West Somerset,” he told the Free Press.

He said that the most common ploys were to claim to be deaf, to have numerous hungry children, to be selling artwork for a charity and carrying out surveys.

Read more in today’s Free Press.