Another double glazing company apologised to a man in Stanley, County Durham, in 1996 after a salesman made V-signs, when the man refused to let him in the house.

Two salesmen from the same company threatened to set fire to a Blackhall Colliery pensioner's garden shed after he locked himself inside to escape their four-hour sales pitch in 1996.

Earlier this year, a North-East company director and three salesmen admitted conning elderly customers out of £30,000 by telling them they needed home improvements.