ROGUE traders are cashing in on a craze for charity wristbands and taking much-needed money from worthy causes.

Consumer watchdogs last night issued a warning to the public to make sure they buy from reputable and authorised traders to ensure their money is going where it is intended.

Coloured wristbands supporting causes such as anti-bullying, cancer awareness and anti-poverty have become a must-have fashion accessory in the past year.

The huge demand for the bands has, in some cases, outstripped supply and left a gap in the market for unscrupulous profit-makers to exploit.

Traders and counterfeiters were last night criticised by officials from charities and trading standards departments in the North-East for cashing in on the craze.

Anyone wanting to buy a wristband is advised to avoid paying for them via auction sites - where they are being sold for up to eight times their proper price - or non-charitable web pages.

Some traders selling the bands do not claim to be passing the money on to charity, but consumer watchdogs are concerned that people think they are helping the causes when they buy them.

Trading standards officers across the region have received reports about counterfeiting, but in many cases no offences are being committed because they are simply being advertised as coloured bands.

Barry Coppinger, Middlesbrough Council's executive member for community safety, said: "It is very disappointing to see people cashing in in an unscrupulous way.

"This is really a case of the buyer beware, and making sure that if you purchase a wristband the money is going to the charity of your choice and not simply into somebody's pocket."

Hartlepool Borough Council's principal trading standards officer, Michael Welsh, added: "As these bands are getting more and more popular, I envisage people will be making a profit by selling them or substitutes for them.

"It will doubtless encourage people to sell them for their own benefit rather than for the benefit of the organisations or charities which are promoting them."

Head of communication at the Charity Commission, Antony Robbins, said: "Essentially they are about raising awareness, not lining people's pockets."

And Lindsay Boswell, chief executive of the Institute of Fundraising, said: "It is despicable to see that criminals are, yet again, targeting money intended for good causes."