A WARNING about "Nottingham Knockers" in the HR6 area has been issued by the county's neighbourhood watch scheme.

Herefordshire Neighbourhood Watch said there have been complaints about door-to-door callers in the Leominster area.

There has been some confusion as there have been two groups operating in the area - door-to-door fundraisers and those known as Nottingham Knockers.

Nottingham Knockers is the colloquial name given to groups of doorstep callers who offer household products for sale and Herefordshire NHW said it is almost always a scam.

The callers often claim to be ex-offenders who additionally say they are part of a rehabilitation scheme helping them to get 'back on their feet' but these schemes very rarely exist and are not arranged by probation services or other organisations trying to find people work.

To conduct door-to-door selling, a person need to be in possession of a pedlars certificate.

The elderly are often targeted for these scams and any suspicious activity should be reported to the police on 101.

The West Midlands charity Acorns Children’s Hospice Trust has also had people in the area going door-to-door - the people should all be wearing Acorns T-shirts and/or, Acorns jackets and have photographic ID that states their name and Acorns Hospice.

If anyone has any questions about Acorns Children’s Hospice door knockers, you can contact the charity directly by calling  01564 825 000. For more information, visit www.acorns.org.uk/door-to-door or email supporterservices@acorns.org.uk