ELDERLY and vulnerable people are being targeted by unscrupulous door-to-door, smoke alarm salesmen.

They offer to fit £5 smoke alarms for £30, even though they can be fitted free.

The chairman of Lancashire's Fire Service and Public Protection Committee County Coun Bob Clark warned against buying from doorstep salesmen.

"I advise people to save their money by buying a smoke alarm from a local shop or superstore," he said.

"If installing the alarm is a problem, contact a relative or neighbour.

"If you are disabled or elderly and have no-one to fit the system, call your local fire station and ask for a safety officer. He will make arrangements to fit the detector free of charge."

The warning follows a police alert against high pressure salesmen targeting the elderly to sell over-priced burglar alarms.

In some cases the alarms were ten times the retail price and police have advised the public to get several estimates before deciding to buy.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.