A PENSIONER is urging residents to be vigilant after she was ‘fleeced’ out of £2,000 by a man who had promised to revamp her garden.

The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, lives in Braintree and admits she is doubtful she will be able to get her money back following the incident.

She had contracted a man to lay an artificial lawn in her back garden two weeks ago.

She said the job had been advertised on Facebook and the contractor had offered a significantly lower price than others.

He had asked for a £500 payment up front to cover the cost of a skip.

But the woman says a skip never arrived and, after handing over a further £1,500 to cover the cost of materials, she has not seen or heard from the contractor in more than a week.

She said: “I’m an 80-year-old woman who lives on her own so I was just desperate to get a new lawn which would be easier to look after.

“The man got in touch after my daughter posted an advert on Facebook.

“He said he could do it for around £2,000 which was the only one I could really afford.

“All the other quotes I had were for £7,000 and £11,000.

“He took up stones and some paving so he started the work.

“But after he asked for the money for materials, he hasn’t shown up and my garden has been left like a bomb site.

“I’ve tried calling him, texting him and sending him emails.

“I did manage to get through on Facebook but he blocked me immediately.

“I put a post on Facebook for help to find him and have been inundated with messages from people who say he has done the same thing to them.”

The victim says she has reported the matter to police but officers are unable to investigate because it is a civil matter.

It has been reported to Action Fraud and the Citizens Advice Bureau but she admits she is doubtful she will get her money back.

She added: “Hindsight is a wonderful thing but I wish I had looked into it a bit more.

“I’ve heard advice about choosing people to do work for you but have never really listened.

“I was just so desperate to get the job done and it’s hard when you live by yourself because you don’t have anyone to talk things through with.

“My advice would be for people to do their research and check carefully who they are paying and why.”