It has been claimed that scammers are taking stones off newly laid roads and offering to layer people’s drives with it.
Lincolnshire County Council says its been made aware of incidents where this has happened and those responsible tried to con people out of cash.
“Posing as a highways crew, it’s believed the group are going from house-to-house claiming to have extra Tarmac and stone chips left over from a nearby, legitimate resurfacing set of works,” a spokesman for the authority which looks after roads states. “Taking the stones from the roads before they’ve bedded-in properly leaves them in a poor state and will mean the council needs to revisit those sites and do the work all over again.
“None of our crews carry out private works. At the end of each shift, materials are weighed in again to ensure minimal waste and that everything is accounted for.
“Somebody claiming to be from the council’s highways team, saying that they have leftovers, is telling you a lie and trying to scam you.
“When a road is resurfaced, the loose stone chips are left in position on the road to allow the lower bitumen layer to toughen up, and traffic driving over the surfaces helps more of the stones embed into that layer.
“It all means that the roads remain safe and ultimately get an even better finished surface.”
Coun Michael Cheyne, executive member for Highways at Lincolnshire County Council said: “This scam is as worrying as it is outrageous.
“For these people to approach people with this lie is bad enough, but for them to also be stealing materials from the top of roads is causing a real risk to the other members of the public, too.
“We will be doing everything we can to get the newly-surfaced roads back to order as quickly as we can. We will also have officers on the case to get the thieves identified.
“If anyone approaches you offering to do your driveway for cash with leftover materials from a nearby highways job, tell them no.
“They are not legitimate. This is a scam. They will not do a good job and you could be left with a driveway ruined and out of pocket.”
Mark Keal, head of Lincolnshire Trading Standards, added: “Sadly, these rogue traders think nothing of cheating residents out of their hard-earned cash. If something sounds too good to be true, that is most often the case.
“If you are approached in this way it’s important not to feel pressurised. Take control of the situation by following some basic steps. Get a range of quotes and check if your preferred trader has insurance and is a member of an approved trader scheme.
“If you unsure ring our highways team on 01522 782070.”
