Woman with dementia 'held in van by bogus workmen'

An elderly woman with dementia was ‘held against her will’ in a van as two bogus workmen made her withdraw thousands of pounds in cash.

Two men have appeared at Coventry Magistrates Court in connection with the incident in Solihull.

David Meredith, 59, of Port Street, Evesham, and Shane Perry, 54, of Birmingham Road, Stratford, have both been charged with multiple fraud offences and kidnap.

West Midlands Police said they received reports of two men posing as workmen and taking advantage of an elderly woman. She was coerced into going to the bank and withdrawing thousands of pounds in cash which she believed she owed for work carried out.

But investigators found that no work was ever carried out. Police said the woman was also held against her will in a van. Luckily the woman, who is in