A COUPLE of conmen have tried to swindle a Cumnock couple out of cash.

East Ayrshire Trading Standards were made aware of the incident on Tuesday April 19.

The bogus callers, two middle aged men, went to a property in the Car Road and Cairn Road area in Cumnock.

The men said they were there to carry out a check on roof tiles and that this was all part of a free service.

The men made their way in to the loft and came back down with a piece of wood and told the couple they had a severe wood lice problem that would cost £1400 to fix.

The scammers tried to talk the couple into paying the cash and told them they would help them go to the bank to get the money, they then changed the amount to £600 to try and get the couple to pay.

It was only when the couple told the swindlers that their son was due to visit that they decided to make their getaway.

The couple only told their family this week and the incident has now been reported to police.

The would-be fleecers didn't manage to get any money out of the couple and nothing was missing from the house.

Following the incident Trading Standards are now reminding service users and family that they should always ask callers for ID even if the caller was expected.