POLICE in Peterlee have warned residents to be on their guard after a woman was duped into handing over money for a bogus digital television offer.

Scores of leaflets advertising offers for BskyB were circulated on Monday morning to houses across the Southway area of the town.

One option was to upgrade to Sky digital for only £20 and anyone interested was asked to ring a mobile number to arrange for a visit by a salesman.

A woman in Tamar Close rang the number and a short time later two men claiming to represent Sky called at her house.

She agreed to the digital upgrade and handed over £20. The men informed her she would receive a call to arrange installation and then left.

The woman later had second thoughts about what had happened and phoned the police. Another woman in Southway received a similar visit but this time from only one man.

After he spent several minutes outlining the offers the householder became suspicious and said she would phone the Sky head office, but as she made the call the man fled the premises.

A spokesman at Durham Police headquarters said the offer had nothing to do with BSkyB.

PC Steph Reynolds, who is based at Peterlee, said it was possible there were other victims who had not contacted the police.

"We think other people may have handed over the cash without suspecting anything was wrong or simply written the £20 off as a gamble worth taking.

"But any information they can provide may be vital in helping us track down these two men.

"Anyone who has received this leaflet through the door should throw it away, it is not a genuine offer."

The Northern Echo launched its Doorstoppers campaign last year to highlight the misery caused by bogus callers.