Three men have been arrested on suspicion of defrauding vulnerable pensioners out of almost one million pounds in a doorstep trading scam in the south east.

Police have been investigating a criminal network thought responsible for a string of frauds in which elderly homeowners were convinced to pay huge amounts of for unnecessary building work and other scams.

The alleged victims, aged between 85 and 92, live in Harrow, Enfield, Hertfordshire and Essex. Police are appealing for more potential victims to come forward.

On Wednesday (May 9), three men aged in their 40s were arrested after warrants were carried out by Met Police, in partnership with Brent and Harrow Trading Standards and South Wales Police.

They were taken to west London and south Wales police stations, where they remain in custody.

Officers from Met Police's new Organised Crime Advisers and detectives from the Organised Crime Command also worked with the other agencies to identify and arrest the suspects.

Speaking after the arrests, detective constable Zara Baker from Met Police's Organised Crime Command said: "The elderly and vulnerable have a right to feel safe from scammers.

"Today's operation highlights the commitment of the Metropolitan Police and its partners to tackle this kind of criminality.

"It shows that our new organised crime advisers will take action against those involved in organised criminal activity in order to safeguard vulnerable members of our community."

Simon Legg, senior trading standards service manager at Brent and Harrow Trading Standards said that scams targeting the vulnerable "will not be tolerated".

He said: ‘We wish to make it clear that those who prey on the elderly or vulnerable extracting money for unnecessary building works and other fraudulent scams will not be tolerated.”

Anyone who thinks they may have been a victim is advised to contact police on 101.