A WARNING has been issued to householders to be on their guard against cowboy builders cold-calling for work.

Council officials are keen to prevent a repeat of an incident in Hartlepool when they were left with a £10,000 bill to clean up tonnes of rubble.

Two years ago, the council was left to clear the dumping site, near the junction of Belle Vue Way and Brenda Road.

The rubble was believed to have resulted from work to block-pave the driveways of up to 50 town properties.

Brian Dinning, a senior enforcement officer in the council's trading standards team, said: "We would urge householders to think very carefully before agreeing to have work done, particularly block-paving on their driveways, if they receive unsolicited approaches.

"If anyone receives such an approach, they should always ask to see a waste carrier's licence. These licences are issued by the Environment Agency and anyone transporting waste must have one.

"Householders should also seek assurances that tradesmen knocking on their doors come from reputable companies, as work carried out can often fail to reach the required standards and people can find themselves left seriously out of pocket.

"We are not saying that everyone who makes an unsolicited approach for business should not be trusted, but we would advise householders to exercise caution in such circumstances."

The Northern Echo's Doorstoppers campaign aims to highlight the dangers of cold-calling.