AN ADVERTISING watchdog has backed a complaint from a local authority over a business offering shares in a Transylvanian gold mine.

The company also wants children's clothes for Romania but the Advertising Standards Authority said the leaflets it is circulating is misleading.

It was brought to the attention of the authority after complaints from trading standards officers at Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council.

The complaint focused on a flyer, with a Skelton address, entitled New Life Charity Aid to Romania, after residents raised doubts over the leaflet's claims.

They offered shares in a Transylvanian gold mine and asked for a £4,000 investment 'with 25pc per year return on your shares every year.'

On Wednesday, the authority's web site - www.asa.org.uk - said in its adjudication: "Because the advertiser (the company) did not provide documentary evidence to substantiate the claims, the authority concluded that the circular was misleading."

There are added concerns for the council with reports across the area that New Life Charity Aid to Romania has been distributing more house-to-house leaflets asking for clothes to be left on doorsteps for collection.

The organisation does not have a licence to collect as the council's licensing committee refused an application earlier this year.

Chairman of the licensing committee, Mike Findley, said: "Our advice to residents is if you are unsure about the authenticity of anyone collecting on the doorstep, contact your council's licensing unit, which keeps a list of all those permitted to make such collections."

The council is also concerned about reports that similar leaflets distributed in Darlington and Sedgefield include a Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council logo, which has not been authorised.

The number for the council's licensing unit is (01287) 612428.