LEDBURY residents are being warned about letters saying they have won prize money.

The letters ask them to send a cheque in order to receive their prize.

Dora Sinclair, 81, of Birch Close, got a letter from Prizes Unlimited telling her she had won £5,000 in a competition.

She was asked to send a cheque for £9.95 to claim her prize, but was stopped from doing so by her daughter Jo Fernie.

"The way it was worded I thought I had a chance of winning," said Mrs Sinclair.

"I get a lot of these letters but this one was worded very strongly and it was from a British address. Some people are more vulnerable than others, especially elderly people."

Tereza Atyeo, an enforcement officer for Herefordshire Trading Standards, said that the letter was a money-making scheme.

She said numerous similar letters were sent each week asking people for money or to call a premium rate phone line to claim their prize.

"There's no such thing as a free lunch," said Ms Atyeo.

"Let's just get these recycled, as they're not worth the paper they're written on."