Smartly dressed man with West Country accent has 162 convictions for scam in which he claims he needs train fare back to Devon

The Join Me movement was started recently to encourage people to do random acts of kindness (RAoK). They wander round buying unsuspecting people cups of tea or helping pensioners cross the road. Early on in the movement's life they met a well dressed elderly man in a Hammersmith pub. They asked him what they could do to make him happy and he told them that his car had broken down and he needed £38 to get back to Devon.

However it later emerged that this was none other than Raymond Price a inveterate con man who has a string of convictions for similar scams going back to the 1950s plus an appearance on Crime Watch. He obtains money by deception using the same tale that he spun to the Join Me members. Police in Chiswick have recently issued a warning about a man approx 63 years old with a tanned complexion and pointed noise. He was smartly dressed and had a west country accent. They confirm that the name Raymond Price has been given during one con, although it would appear that this was not a genuine name.

When he received the money from the Join Me movement Raymond said, "I have never been so happy in my whole life, as I am today,". However such is the ethos of the movement that, rather than becoming bitter and twisted by being conned by the man, they decided to set up a fund - The Raymond Price Fund for Keeping Raymond Price out of Trouble.

Danny of the Karma Army, the militant wing of the Join Me movement, said, "I have worked out, from police reports and newspaper articles, that Raymond has been convicted 162 times of scamming between £7 and £38 out of people by telling them his car has broken down. This means he has made between £1134 and £6156 out of kindhearted people in the last fifty years or so - that averages out at £3645. Which means that this criminal mastermind makes on average £72 a year from his scam. Which is rubbish."

In gratitude for the original impetus that Raymond Price gave to the setting up of the movement they now are raising funds to ensure that Raymond stays out of jail. They are asking for 10p per annum from everyone to give to him to stop him carrying out his scam. Raymond will be asked to sign a form promising that he won't do it again and if he doesn't the money stops.

If you see Raymond about locally let us and the Join Me movement know. You can also sign up to the Raymond Price newsletter by e-mailing rp_newsletter@joinee.co.uk