THE results of a single week’s sweep of suspect rogue traders has certainly brought some eye-opening results.

Seven arrests and almost £30,000 in suspect work being cancelled seemingly shows just how prevalent the problem of cowboy workmen preying on the public is.

When trading standards officers told us of this week, where the plan was to literally drive around the county looking for suspected dodgy work going on, it sounded like looking for a needle in a haystack.

But the results of this once-a-year operation would make it appear it is not much more difficult than shooting fish in a barrel.

Enforcement officer Charlotte Walton said she is able to almost sniff out the cowboys, so that gift may help, but perhaps chiefs at Oxfordshire County Council need to reflect what their staff’s sterling work may illustrate.

If the problem is so widespread and staff are able to make such serious inroads, then perhaps we need more than an annual operation.

Could it be they identified so many suspects because rogue traders believe they can act unmolested?

A concentrated crackdown may prove worth the resources needed.