COMMUTERS stuck in traffic on the A419 earlier this week couldn't have failed to notice a police checkpoint - with cars and vans pulled over into a layby on the southbound carriageway by officers with a vehicle emblazoned with Immigration Checks on the side.

In fact the operation was trying to catch possible rogue traders.

Wiltshire Police and Trading Standards officers from Swindon Borough Council were running the checks as part of National Operation Rogue Trader week - with the aim of reducing such incidents and encouraging people to report dodgy traders to the police or council.

During the check 20 vehicles, with white vans prominent among them, stopped.

One was reported for having children on board without the correct safety measures, one was advised of defects to the vehicle.

One vehicle was referred to the Environment Agency because it was carrying waste and one business received advice on complying with the law from from Trading Standards.

Councillor Cathy Martyn, Swindon Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing and Public Safety, said: “Rogue traders and doorstep fraudsters prey on the most vulnerable in society. Working closely with the police and other agencies means we can intervene sooner and safeguard potential victims.

“It’s crucial to raise awareness of doorstep crime and help prevent innocent people from falling victim to these criminals. This campaign provides a platform to educate people and put a stop to doorstep crime in our communities.”

In other operations as part of the week three traders have been issued warnings for incorrect paperwork and not issuing customers with details of their right to a 14 day cooling off period and one trader offering tree work was prevented from cold calling in Marlborough Road as he was not issuing the correct paperwork.

Following a 999 call from a Swindon bank on Monday, three men were arrested at a house in Station Road, Swindon where the elderly occupants were being asked to withdraw large quantities of cash for minimal and poor quality work following a cold call the previous week.

A further arrest has been made following a report in August regarding a bogus roofing company cold calling an elderly victim in Old Town, for £9,000.

The Trading Standards team can be contacted on 01793 466155.

In west Swindon, an area with a high number of rogue trader cases reported 500 households were given advice packs which included preventative advice, doorstep crime information and list of approved trading standards traders on the Buy with Confidence Scheme. “No cold calling” door stickers were issued to residents that requested them.