TRADING standards inspectors are urging people to take care when donating clothes to charity.

They say that "misleading" leaflets have been put through doors, saying that the clothes will go to poor families in Eastern Europe, and using names including Please Me Limited and Kosta Limited.

Officers say that the collections seem to be organised by commercial operators who sell the donated items for profit. Although the leaflets mention support for a charity, checks carried out by Bury Council in tandem with the Charities Commission reveal the charities do not exist.

A number of enforcement agencies have been looking into these activities.

Councillor Stella Smith said: "We want to make residents aware that organisations exist which sell the clothing rather than donate clothing through registered charities."

Trading standards say that any charity collection should include the organisation's full name, address and registered charity number on its literature. These details can then be checked, by phoning the Charity Commission helpline on 0870 333 0123 or via its website, www.charity-commission.gov.uk