OFFICERS at Cleveland Fire Brigade are urging people to be careful of bogus callers pretending to be from the fire service.

The warning comes after members of the public in a neighbouring brigade area claimed bogus callers had been contacting them by phone, asking if they would like a free home fire inspection and offering security advice, which would incur a charge.

The brigade does offer free safety checks, including free smoke alarms to the community, with contact being made through knocking on doors, leaflet drops and phone calls.

Mark Whelan, director of community safety and operations at the Cleveland brigade, said: "We would like people to be aware of these people claiming to be from the fire service. We do contact people to ask if they would like a home fire safety check, but would never ask for a fee.

"Anybody offering chargeable services for such a check will not be from Cleveland Fire Brigade.

"All staff will be able to identify themselves with photographic identification, and we would recommend that you always ask to see the ID of anyone you do not know and allow into your home.

"If anyone is contacted and they suspect the person to be calling is not from the fire service, they can always contact us to check if it is genuine.

"What we don't want to do is put people off having a safety check

"We would urge anyone who hasn't had one to give us a call and arrange one. It only takes 15 minutes and could save your life."

Anyone concerned about the identity of a suspect caller can ring Cleveland Fire Brigade on (01429) 874063.