A MAJOR campaign is launched by The Northern Echo today aimed at saving people from the misery and heartache of doorstep crime.

Doorstoppers has the backing of the police, trading standards, politicians, utility companies and organisations which look after the welfare of the elderly.

The aim is to raise awareness of the dangers of bogus callers and distraction burglaries, and press for a change in the law to combat door-to-door property repair tradesmen.

Police forces across the region are dealing with a growing number of doorstep crimes - committed by people they describe as "ruthless and often highly-professional".

Figures show more than quarter of a million people a year across the country are targeted by bogus callers, but experts believe there is widespread under-reporting and the number could be much higher.

Last year, North Yorkshire Police had more than 1,000 incidents reported to them relating to uninvited doorstep callers, with many others being reported to other agencies such as trading standards.

In County Durham and across Teesside, police are dealing with an average of about 150 incidents of bogus callers a year.

In one of the most disturbing cases, an 82-year-old widower died of a heart attack three hours after a conman tricked his way into the pensioner's North-East home and stole £200.

The problem of doorstep crime and cowboy builders has reached such a stage that the North of England Trading Standards Group and The Northern Echo have joined forces for the Doorstoppers campaign.

Today, North Yorkshire County Council is hosting a seminar at which experts will tell of their experiences in dealing with doorstep crime.

The council's head of trading standards and regulatory services, Stuart Pudney, said: "A comprehensive survey we carried out showed the biggest area of public concern is property repair and maintenance.

"We are getting four or five calls a day about bogus callers but there is massive under-reporting.

"Our estimate is that there must be around 15,000 to 20,000 incidents a year - that's based on what we know is going on, what the police tell us and what the levels of under-reporting are."

Detective Superintendent Ian Scott, of Durham Police, said: "The under-reporting could be because people find it too embarrassing to confide in their family or the police or that they genuinely don't know they have become a victim.

"Our figures for misrepresentation crimes are purely those where things have been stolen, but there will be hundreds of other incidents of suspicious behaviour which have been reported to us."

Trading standards group consultant Brian Steele, a retired detective and a member of the Home Office Burglary Task Force, will be one of the speakers at today's seminar.

He said calls for a change in the law to make it a criminal offence to cold call to carry out property repairs would help outlaw cowboy builders.

Mr Steele has the support of Leeds MP Paul Truswell, who said: "We have got to try to paint these people into an increasingly smaller corner to restrict the tactics they can use to con elderly people.

"We are not nave in thinking this is a major solution, but it is one more weapon in the fight against the distraction burglar.

"These conmen who prey on elderly people are the scum of the earth - the lowest of the low."

Help The Aged spokesman Adam Blight said: "This type of crime is not petty. It can result in the perpetrators taking thousands of pounds from victims."

Susanna Morduant, of Age Concern, added: "This is a cruel crime and can often have a devastating impact on older people."