A BIZARRE Facebook post claiming people are handing out face masks laced with chemicals has been branded a hoax by police.

The post was headed up 'Police Bulletin' and claimed people were going door to door with masks, which would knock out the person who breathed in the chemicals and make them easier to rob.

However, West Mercia Police say the post is a hoax and they have received no reports of any incidents like this.

The post had been widely shared on the Spotted pages for Worcester, Bromsgrove and Redditch - and those running the Worcester page have since issued an apology.

Inspector Lee Page said: “We have been made aware of a post that recently appeared on Spotted Redditch and Spotted Worcester Facebook pages claiming to be from the police, about free facemasks being hand delivered to homes with an aim to then gain entry to the property.

“This post was not from West Mercia Police and would appear to be a hoax.

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"We have received no reports of such an offence, however, should you be approached at home by anyone you feel is suspicious or claiming to be from any official organisation, you can request their identification and call their organisation for verification and do not let them into your home.

"Remember to never hand over any money or personal information and if you feel you have been a victim of a crime call 101 or in an emergency or if a crime is in progress call 999.”

Spotted: Worcester deleted its post after several people pointed out it was a hoax. The page admins later apologised for it, saying: “I am aware of a post I shared a couple of days ago which we should not have posted, regarding face masks. I didn’t look into it properly, and deleted it as soon as I realised my mistake. Hands up, it was completely all on me as the owner of the page posting it, I can only apologise for the inconvenience which I caused and am really sorry. As I hope you can appreciate we do not make mistakes very often so when we do, its embarrassing for us so I’m really sorry.”