Suffolk Trading Standards have issued a warning after reports a woman appeared to pose as a council member in Stowmarket.

The incident happened on March 25 in the mid Suffolk town when a homeowner was approached at their door by a woman who claimed the trees in the residents' garden were unsafe and needed to be cut down.

The woman wore a lanyard and the resident assumed they were from the local council.

According to Suffolk Trading Standards, the resident did not engage further and the woman left.

Mid Suffolk District Council confirmed after the incident that they were not in the area.

This follows an incident in Bury St Edmunds of rogue tree surgeons cutting down trees without asking.

Also in the Suffolk town, there were warnings over 'Nottingham knockers' in recent months.

Suffolk Trading Standards is advising the public to use a spy hole, chain or window to have a look at the caller before answering the door and keep the chain on.

The organisation also recommends always asking for proof of identity and to take it from the person through the letterbox and reading it carefully before deciding what to do.

A full list of precautions can be seen on Suffolk Trading Standards' Facebook page.