Shropshire residents warned over convict con

This comes after at least three reports were made to the force this month of door-to-door sellers hassling residents in Much Wenlock.

West Mercia Police has issued a warning to householders and said callers may claim to be ex-convicts attempting to mend their ways, but are not part of any recognised rehabilitation scheme.

Chrissie Edgcumbe Venning, owner of La Bella Rosa in High Street, said sales people are known to visit properties and shops around the town.

"They tend to come around into the shops quite a bit," she said.

"There was a quite rude one that came into the shop about four or five weeks ago. They work to a script and I think someone drops them off in a van and they go around selling overpriced goods.

"I have fallen for one before but the last one that came in the shop said he was from Wolverhampton and swore at me. Normally they are quite polite but this one wasn't."

Selling goods door-to-door is not illegal, but to do so sellers need a pedlar's licence, and individuals that ignore signs on properties regarding unsolicited sales people may be committing an offence.

PCSO Mal Goddard, of West Mercia Police, said: "Police advice on the subject of cold callers and door-to-door salesmen is very clear – do not buy from them.

"Remember, if no one in an area buys these goods, then the sellers are less likely to return.

"If you have been offered goods for sale in this manner and have felt that the callers have overstepped the mark with their sales technique, please call 101 to report them."

He added: "You may be robust enough to send such callers on their way, more vulnerable people in the area may not be, so please look out for your neighbours and friends."

Much Wenlock councillor Graham Edgcumbe Venning, said "so-called ex-convicts" have been appearing in the town for years.

He said: "There's been a period of about two to three years that I've noticed so-called ex-convicts trying to sell you a bog brush or something incredibly overpriced.

"I'm not overly aware of anything of a recent nature but I know it happens throughout the town."