BOGUS callers have been phoning businesses and requesting payment for advertising to support the county's fire service. 

Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service (HWFRS) said these calls are not genuine and payments should not be made.

Area Commander Jon Pryce said: "A store manager recently contacted us to inform us of a call they had received from a very insistent sales person asking for monetary sums to support HWFRS Fire Service magazine. When told payments needed to go through head office and questioned about the details of the advert, the caller became very irate and put the phone down on the store manager."

He continued: "We are very concerned that people are using our name to carry out fraudulent activities. Anyone who receives any similar calls across the two counties should not agree to pay any money or enter into any kind of contract. HWFRS does not carry out any such activities in relation to sales or marketing. Our advice is to get as much detail as possible, including a name and number and report it to Trading Standards and/ or Action Fraud."