BUSINESSES are being warned to ignore demands for money from a company claiming to regulate health and safety laws.

Letters have been sent from a Bradford-based company, calling itself the Health and Safety Enforcement Agency or the Health and Safety Registration Enforcement Division. Earlier letters, with the same company name, have used a Rochdale address.

In the bogus mail, a demand is made for between £199 and £249 to ensure businesses comply with health and safety legislation.

But Trading Standards officers are warning companies to ignore the scam.

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council's chief trading standards officer, Jeff Bell, said: "The letters are worded in such a way that suggests the sender is an official enforcement body. But it is not. It is just another example of a money-making scam. There is no legal need for anyone to buy literature or services from these companies.