RUTHLESS CROOK HAS VANISHED & LEFT ME ROOFLESS
Conman steals £5400 from OAP that was to pay for wife’s care home
A PENSIONER was left with no roof when a scammer allegedly ran off with £5400 of his savings.
Harry Thomson, 75, was approached by the “would-be roofer” four weeks ago at his home in High Valleyfield, Dunfermline.
A shocking image shows how Harry’s roof was stripped of tiles by the rogue trader, who initially knocked on his door and told him he had a leak he could fix.
Over the course of four weeks, Harry claims the man returned multiple times asking for more money to buy supplies.
After stripping his entire roof of tiles, and managing to collect a total of £5400, he says the man stopped coming.
Harry was left devastated after realising he had been conned out of the money, which had been put away to pay for his wife’s care home.
While giving a statement to the police, Harry collapsed and had epileptic seizures brought on by stress.
However, since hearing about the incident, a kind-hearted local roofer contacted Harry to tell him he would install a new roof for free.
Speaking about the scammer yesterday, Harry said: “He cold-called me. He talked the talk and walked the walk. He said, ‘ You’ve got a leak’, and I didn’t think it was bad but he said it was. They’re professionals.
“He first asked for £1300 for supplies to sort out my chimney. He went away and then came back and said I would be better with a new roof so I drew out another £2000 for more materials.
“On the 24th, he came with some other boys and stripped all the tiles off the roof and said I will come back in a couple of hours. He never came back.
“I called the police and they came up and took a statement and by the end of it I had four seizures.”
Harry posted about the incident on Facebook to want others to be vigilant about the conman.
He added: “There was a message from a chap, Leon Roe. He offered to replace my roof for free.
“He did the front and he’s got the scaffolders to put the tiles on the back.
“That money was in the bank to pay for my wife’s care. I don’t think I will ever see it again.”
A spokesman for the police said inquiries are ongoing.