WATCHDOGS are warning people about junk mail from Holland offering competitions, lotteries, cash prizes and valuable consumer goods.

County trading standards officers say the area is being flooded with mail, giving residents the impression they have won a car or a big cash prize.

Headings such as "Urgent Notification" or "Merchandise for shipping awaits your authorisation" are used to impress the people receiving the letters.

Other offers may indicate valuable goods are available by mail order, with consumers asked to send £10 to £50 to claim their goods or prizes.

Trading standards officers say the mail order schemes may never provide any goods, or if they do they are likely to be junk jewellery items worth less than a few pounds or cash prizes of as little as 70p.

Some schemes simply disappear and no system exists to obtain refunds between different countries, even those within the EU.

Councillor Don Yates chairman of Lancashire's public protection committee, said: "My advice is to ignore these prize offers as many of them are not worth the paper they are printed on.

"Consumers are sometimes asked to part with money for prizes which can be bought for a fraction of the price being asked."

Anybody who would like any advice on the issue can contact the County Council Trading Standards Hotline on 0845 6001352.

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