SCAMMERS have been crossing the country to target the elderly in Oxfordshire as the start of the year saw a "massive" rise in doorstep crime.

Vulnerable people are being warned to be extra vigilant of rogue traders offering home improvements as figures revealed there were more than 80 incidents reported in February and March so far.

Doorstep crime team leader Martin Woodley, from Oxfordshire Trading Standards, said the figure was a "massive" rise with about 25 in the same period last year/

He said his officers were "inundated" with calls with organised groups of criminals coming from as far away as Grimsby in Humberside to target the county, seen as rich-pickings due to the high number of wealthy older people.

He added: "We have not been hit this hard in February and March in a long time. This is a major problem. They are coming in at about four or five a day at the moment."

In 2014/15, his team received 377 complaints about doorstep crime, but Mr Woodley said this financial year – 2015/16 – was likely to see about 410, and next year could be even higher with the problem likely to in the summer.

Mr Woodley said: "Historically it drops off in December and starts getting busy in April. But this year we got hammered in February. It's the first year it started this early."

And he believed the reason for the early surge could be the mild winter experienced in Oxfordshire.

He said: "We had a spell of wet and cold, then suddenly it went quite dry and pleasant. It's the first opportunity they've had to get out and about and do what they do."

Three Trading Standards officers and one policeman are working around the clock to combat the issue, he added, with eight already arrested since the beginning of the year.

And it is believed even more scams are taking place, with just five per cent of those hit by the fraudsters reporting it to the authorities.

Trading Standards operations manager Jody Kerman said: "Unfortunately situations such as these are common and can have shattering effects on a victim’s life.

"Not only can they lose their life savings but also lose the confidence to leave their home and in some instances develop health issues such as anxiety and depression.

"Scams are massively underreported."

Along with dodgy home improvements, fake prize draws are a common means of getting people to part with their money, along with 'gold coin scams', timeshare resale scams and clairvoyant or psychic scams.

According to the national branch of Trading Standards, the average age of a victim is 74.

People in Oxfordshire are being warned to be wary of out-of-the-blue phone calls, letters and emails and being asked to send money to claim a prize or receive competition winnings. Pressure selling and uninvited doorstep callers, particularly those offering home improvements, should also be treated with caution.

In the last week of February, Blackbird Leys pensioner Michael Murphy, 67, told the Oxford Mail he had been conned out of £12,000 by men promising to fix his gutters and roof.

A few months previously a 74-year-old woman in Yarnton had fallen for rogue traders who left her £20,000 out of pocket using the same tactics.