The two men and woman told the man a neighbour had hired them to cut down the tree.

After spending 10 minutes in the yard and trimming a branch, they returned and asked for payment from the man.

After handing over the substantial amount of money the resident requested a receipt. No receipt was issued and one of the men said: "You got a special price", before leaving.

One man was described as being in his late 40s, and the other two as being in their late 30s.