Halton Borough Council Trading Standards Officers are warning Halton consumers about bogus telephone calls doing the rounds.

Following a spate of these last year in the area, the calls, which threaten to disconnect the internet, are automated and state they have detected fraudulent activity on the consumers internet connection and it will be disconnected.

Consumers are urged to press 'one' on their telephone keypad.

Halton Borough Council's Executive Board Member for Trading Standards Councillor Dave Cargill said: "It is highly likely they will then ask for the consumers personal details and/or ask them to make a payment. This is a scam, please hang up the phone."

If you or somebody you know has been caught out by a scam or fraud please contact one of the specialist officers Linda or Sue on: 0151 511 8785 or 0151 511 8775.

If you need advice on anything else please contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline or: 0808 223 1133.

Halton Trading Standards has also issued a warning about this scam on itsiCAN (Consumer Alert Network) system. iCAN is a free email alert service and was originally developed to warn consumers about scams operated by cold callers and doorstep callers.

If you would like to join send an email with your name and address to trading.standards@halton.gov.uk.