COLD-CALLING has been banned from an area of Bradford on Avon as police crack down on distraction burglaries.

Parts of Elmfield, off Winsley Road, have been selected as the pilot area for the No Cold Call scheme, which was launched on Tuesday.

PCSOs from Bradford and Melksham spent the afternoon putting up posters warning away cold callers and delivering information packs to residents on how to deal with unwanted people who knock on the door.

Pc Sarah Harkcom, from the burglary unit in Melksham, is behind the pilot and hopes with further funding it could be rolled out in other areas in the division after proving successful in other parts of the county.

She said: "Distraction burglars normally target vulnerable, elderly people," she said.

"What we have said in the past is ask for ID and put the chain on but these distraction burglars have gone ahead of us. They come dressed in uniforms with ID and old people don't realise they are fake when it is flashed in front of them.

"We are changing our advice to tell people not to even open the door if they haven't had an advance notice or a prearranged appointment. If you don't know them don't open the door."

Bradford on Avon has one of the highest numbers of elderly residents and one of the biggest rates of distraction burglaries in the county.

One recent incident involved a woman in her 80s who was driven to a building society in Trowbridge and told to withdraw £2,000 by two men who said they had come to fix her roof.

Residents in the pilot area have now been given window stickers advising cold callers not to bother knocking on their doors, information and questionnaires.

They have also received a reminder of emergency numbers to contact the police if they are worried about a particular caller.

Pc Harkcom said: "Con artists have always been linked with people who go round selling products. Very often these people gather information about the people they call on and pass it onto distraction burglars.

"The idea is to gather more information and intelligence as these burglaries are particularly difficult to detect."

The Bobby Van Trust is also involved in the project and has already launched its own guidance to stop bogus callers.

Alan Watson, of the trust said: "The charity provides home security for elderly victims of crime free of charge. The idea is to be proactive and do something before people get caught out."

Michael Bowen, chairman of Bradford on Avon's community safety partnership, said he welcomed the scheme.

"I think this scheme is a very good move. The message is don't let people in unless you know who they are," he said.

"These distraction burglars are saying they are cold callers but are finding an evil way into victims' homes."