CONMEN made off with hundreds of pounds worth of flagstones from a disabled man's back yard after he agreed a deal with them -- and even made them a cup of tea.

Now police have warned other residents in Rishton to beware of being approached with similar offers.

Roy Miller says he was approached by three men at his home in Rishton who said they would pay him £80 if he allowed them to take away his stone flags and level the back yard with concrete slabs.

He and his wife Dorothy, 55, agreed to the deal and even made the workers cups of tea with biscuits. But they grew suspicious when the men said they would have to do the job in two parts and would take the stones to Wigan before returning with the concrete slabs and sand.

The men said they would return in 90 minutes but the couple, of Chapel Street, did not see them again.

Mr Miller, 58, who has cancer of the bladder and walks with a limp, said: "They said that they were in the area buying the flags because they are worth some money. I gave them permission to take the stones on the condition that I got the £80 and had the yard levelled into a patio effect but they took the stones and went. They have left the back yard a complete wreck. We didn't even have time to get the registration number of their van because they drove off so fast.

"I want to warn other people not to fall for this like we did. They could clearly see that I am disabled and possibly thought they would take the Mickey.

"People should be very careful before letting anyone onto their property -- we should have reported them to the police straight away, but they said it was a genuine offer and we believed them."

Mr Miller now believes the men were carrying out work nearby and had run out of stone slabs to finish the job, so came up with the story.

At the time, on Friday lunchtime, he thought that £80 along with having the yard finished with concrete slabs was a good deal. He then spoke to a relative who advised him the stone slabs were worth much more than that and that it would cost more than £200 to repair the yard.

A police spokesperson confirmed that the incident had been reported and that police were investigating.

She said: "If other people were approached by these men or saw them in the area and can provide any further information they should call the police.

"We would advise people to use caution with any dealings such as this and if they are going to enter into a similar agreement then to get the money in advance."