A TOP cop has urged residents to be "nosey neighbours" to support vulnerable members of the community after a 92-year-old Ramsbottom woman was targeted by a rogue trader.

Sir Peter Fahy, Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, visited the woman, who was said to have been overcharged for work carried out on her house, while he was out on patrol in the borough.

He said the woman had been charged £1,500 for "shoddy" work that should have cost about £100.

Sir Peter said: “I would ask residents to look out for tradesmen calling at the homes of elderly neighbours or apparently doing work and just think about checking out that everything is OK.

"Asking if everything is alright could prevent a crime occurring or at least ensure that someone is not being pressurised to accept a price.”

He made the plea as figures showed that reports made to his force of concerns for a vulnerable person, who may have gone missing or have not been seen for several days, are on the rise.

The number of reports was 22,226 between January and December last year, in comparison to 19,589 over the same period the previous year.

He said that there is also a "growing concern" to protect people suffering from dementia from being preyed upon by unscrupulous criminals.

As part of Dementia Awareness Week, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) took part in a range of activities to help raise awareness of the condition.

Sir Peter added: “As a nation we are getting older and more and more people are now living with dementia. In this country, there are now around 850,000 people who suffer from it and this figure is set to double.

“When police officers are called to an address because someone has not been seen for a few days it is incredibly helpful when neighbours are able to provide phone numbers for relatives and even better if they know that their neighbour has gone into hospital. Often this can save officers from having to break in.

"Clearly the investigation process is much more difficult when the victim has poor memory and the criminals know this. This is why it is so important for neighbours to be vigilant and to keep an eye on those vulnerable members of the community."

Anyone spotting suspicious activity should call police on 101, and people seeking advice about dementia can call the National Dementia Helpline on 0300 222 11 22.