A SCAM which targeted elderly and vulnerable people by selling them worthless damp proof services at extortionate prices netted £1.5m, a court heard.

Smooth talking salesmen used various company names to cover their tracks and prestigious London addresses given as headquarters for the firms were just fronts, it was alleged at Preston crown court.

A common deception used in the scam was the claim that the salesmen were chartered surveyors or specialist damp surveyors.

Customers were conned out of a total of £1.5m by the scam, which was designed to "extract as much money as possible" from its victims, the court was told.

The accused are Sarah Hudson, 26, of no fixed address; Mark Hudson, 21, of Castle View, Clitheroe; Daniel Sharples, 21, of Cardigan Avenue, Clitheroe; Joseph O'Toole, 49, of Dearden Avenue, Little Hulton, Salford; Paul Markey, 33, of Belvedere Avenue, Stockport; and Scott McGrory, 35, of Holyhead Road, Albrighton, Wolverhampton.

They deny conspiracy with others to obtain property by deception between August 1 2004 and November 30 2006.

The charge alleges that they deceived people into believing that damp proofing or fire safety work was required and would be carried out to a competent standard and at a fair and reasonable price.

The two Hudsons, O'Toole, Markey and McGrory deny a second charge of conspiracy to launder money between the same dates.

Paul Reid QC prosecuting, told the jury: "This case concerns a fraud in which elderly and vulnerable people were targeted and deceived into paying for worthless damp proof services at extortionate prices.

"They were duped into parting with large sums of money to pay for damp proof work, usually in the form of a chemical damp proof course to their homes.

"They were tricked and deceived into paying for damp proof treatments to their homes when either the property had no damp, or, if there was some damp, it was treated inappropriately and ineffectively. To compound the deception, the amounts charged were far in excess of what could ever be described as a fair and reasonable price."

Mr Reid said the fraud was created and organised by Nigel Hudson, the father of Mark Hudson.

Nigel Hudson has previously pleaded guilty to the two charges. In September 2006 he married his long term girlfriend Sarah Stone and she became the second Mrs Hudson.

Nigel Hudson organised his fraud under a number of different trading names in order to cover his tracks, the court was told.

Mr Reid said: "These addresses were merely fronts, premises that operated as forwarding addresses for mail and re-directed phone calls to an office in Portugal."

(Proceeding )