POLICE have warned the public to be wary of high pressure salesmen who 'doorstep' elderly and vulnerable people to try to sell them burglar alarms.

In one recent case a pensioner was offered a £150 alarm system for £1,000 by a salesmen who turned up unannounced at his door.

"Some companies demand extortionate prices for basic alarm systems," said Sergeant Alan Holt, of Blackburn's crime prevention office.

"If anyone does require a security system, we would advise them to get three different quotations and not allow themselves to be pressurised." Sgt Holt said a good alarm system would be approved by a number of independent organisations such as the National Approval Council for Security Systems, the Security Systems and Alarm Inspection Board, the Independent Alarm Inspectorate and Integrity 2000, who all publish lists of approved companies.

Alarm buyers should also check that the alarm company is acceptable to their insurance company and the police.

David Brown, Lancashire's Deputy Chief Trading Standards Officer, agreed that there were 'cowboys' in the industry and added: "We would advise anyone contemplating buying a burglar alarm to shop around and get quotes from several people first."

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