A DOOR-TO-DOOR furniture seller is being investigated by trading standards as officers continue to crack down on cold calling.

The seller, known to operate in North Yorkshire by knocking at people's doors or stopping them in the street, has recently been tracked down by the county council's trading standards service.

The move was made following a complaint from a Scarborough resident concerning claims that furniture was falsely described as being leather and did not comply with flammability regulations.

"This is just another example to show that there are no bargains when buying from doorstep sellers," said Councillor Carl Les, the county council's executive member for trading standards.

"Handing over £400 to someone that you don't know, and will never find if things go wrong, just doesn't make good sense.

"Officers spend a lot of time investigating these types of incidents but rarely will they be able to recover money that is paid out.

"Householders must realise that the only real defence is to say no and shut the door."