Police urge residents to be wary of people posing as housing association employees

Officers are urging people to be alert to scammers knocking on their doors after two recent incidents in Tamworth of people approaching homes claiming to be from a housing association.

The first occurred on 14 January when a resident of Hornbeam, in Amington, reported being woken up at about 9.45am by somebody “persistently” knocking their front door.

A white man of larger build and aged in his early 40s with short black hair who was wearing black trousers, black t-shirt and a black jacket and holding a clipboard claimed to be from the Midland Heart housing association and said he needed to come in and check their water temperatures.

After the resident refused the man eventually left. Residents of another property also said the man had called there.

Then on 15 January in Juniper, Amington, a builder was leaving a property at about 10.30am when a man let himself in and claimed to the resident there that they also were from Midland Heart.

He is described as white, aged in his 40s and about 6ft tall and of slim build with long, scruffy black hair and a mole on his left cheek. He was wearing a dark blue jacket and carried a blue badge around their neck.

They checked the hot and cold taps and then searched through all the cupboards in the property saying they were looking for the stop tap. The resident followed the man throughout so nothing was taken.

When the resident said they’d call their son to find out where the stop tap was the man has told them “don’t do that” and quickly left at about 11am.

Other residents on the street also reported being called upon by the male described.

Sergeant Gary Harborow from Staffordshire Police’s Tamworth Neighbourhood Policing Team said: “We urge all residents to always ask to see identification from anybody knocking at their door claiming to be from an organisation.

“If you are ever suspicious or have any doubts please do not let people into your property. Close the door and ring the organisation to find out whether the person was genuine or not.

“To report any suspicious incidents such as this please message the force on social media or call 101 to pass on the details. In an emergency, always dial 999.”

Paul Barker, head of maintenance at Midland Heart, said: “We’ll always call, text or write to our tenants before an appointment is booked and our operatives will always have Midland Heart ID and uniform. They’ll usually arrive in a Midland Heart van.

“We also work with a number of trusted contractors who may complete repairs on our behalf but we’ll confirm who’s due out to you when the appointment’s booked. These operatives will also be carrying ID and wearing uniform.

"If you're unsure if the caller is genuine, you can call us on 0345 60 20 540 or message us on social media."