An appeal has been launched to help a pensioner conned out of £3,000 on his doorstep.

The man handed over the cash to a bogus tradesman who claimed to be the boss of the roofing firm working on his home.

Work on the pensioner’s home in Howard Park, Cleckheaton, was almost done when the pensioner answered a knock on the door.

The man on the doorstep said he was the boss and his men were doing “a good job.”

The unsuspecting pensioner offered to pay and handed over £3,000. The conman thanked him and drove off.

It was only later when the pensioner told one of the real roofers that he had “paid his boss” that the scam was revealed.

Now the wife of roofing firm boss Phil Senior has launched a Just Giving page to raise the £3,000 stolen.

Phil, 39, who runs P. Senior Roofing Contractors in Cleckheaton, was working near Leeds when the conman struck at 11am on Monday.

His wife Carrie, 33, said: “The customer was devastated at what happened and Phil was gutted for him.

“The customer has offered to pay but Phil feels guilty about accepting it. It’s a shocking thing to happen on his own doorstep. He made an honest mistake.”

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When Carrie told her friends about the con on Facebook the story was shared more than 2,600 times.

She decided to launch the appeal and said: “We care about our community and if all those people who shared the story made a small donation we would be able to give this man his money back.”

Police are hunting a mixed race man, about 6ft tall with a stubbly beard. He was driving a small blue Peugeot van.

Anyone with information should ring police on 101.

Around £500 has been donated so far. To donate go to https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/Hepworthsroof