Man chased down by police and detained in "Hot Fuzz" style arrest in Gosport
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Quick-thinking and fast feet led to a man being arrested on suspicion of fraud.
Officers detained the male who ran from police in Gosport yesterday (March 11). The force reported on Facebook that a resident contacted them concerned for their elderly neighbour after she was offered service to repair her roof.
“On arrival our suspect male ran from Police, hopping over the back garden wall. But in true Hot Fuzz fashion, the suspect was no match for PC 30100 who caught him after a foot chase.”
A 32-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of fraud by false representation. He was placed into police custody. SGT 27954 Cottrell, one of the officers who handled the incident, issued a plea for the public to keep an eye on vulnerable people who may be susceptible to rogue traders.
He said: “If you have vulnerable family, friends or neighbours in your road or family members, please keep an eye out for rogue traders. Remind them not to accept the first quote, speak to family, friends or even trading standards to make sure everything is in order before paying for services.
“We can’t be everywhere all the time to prevent this from happening, but by working with the community in this way we can bring offenders to justice. We take reports like this very seriously.”
Spike in Rogue Trader incidents
As previously reported in The News, police said there had been a spike in rogue trader related crimes in Locks Heath, Fareham, Warsash and elsewhere. A total of seven incidents between September 27 and October 17 in Titchfield, Fareham and Southampton, typically consisting of males purporting to be tradesmen and carrying out minimal work on each visit.
One of the incidents led to four men being arrested after a woman in her 80s handed over £32,800 to them for roof work. Chief Inspector of Fareham and Gosport Marcus Kennedy previously said: “We ask people to check in on their neighbours and family.
“If they are having work done it might be legitimate but when traders are knocking on doors and if you don’t feel comfortable tell them, ‘I’ll speak to you later’, and close the door. Check their details and speak to a family member or neighbour and please tell us so we can help.”