POLICE have warned residents in Ascot over cold callers pretending to be from a gardening company in Chertsey.

Thames Valley Police received a report from a woman after she received a call about having 'some gardening done'.

She agreed a price of £550 to have her hedge cut and when it came to payment, the cold callers became difficult on the phone.

Officers said the resident asked for their names and contact details, but they wanted to know why she wanted them.

When she pressed them the caller responded ‘John’.

READ MORE: The best Sunday roasts in Bracknell (according to customers)

Police said: "They were very cagey about giving personal details but they appeared to come from Chertsey and they were working at several houses in the area, but did not have a ladder and asked to borrow one from the resident."

When the work was finished the resident felt they had done a 'very poor job'.

She offered them a cheque but they only took cash and told them she could go to a bank, to which they replied to her: "you must have lots of cash in the house".

The resident responded that there wasn’t a local bank, so the gardeners asked them to do an online transfer, but the resident did not have online banking.

ALSO READ: David Tennant and Stanley Tucci filming in Wokingham today for Inside Man

In the end, they managed to put together £450 in cash, which the men accepted.

The resident also noted how the two men paid particular interest in the birds in the aviary in her rear garden.

She now fears the men may come back and steal them.

As a result, police have told residents to not deal with anyone who cold calls at the door.

Police said: "This resident had to face unpleasantness and aggravation over payment, and the worry over the future of the birds in their aviary – plus – a job poorly done. The fact that they didn’t have a ladder to cut a hedge, should have been a warning."