TRADING Standards Officers are warning local residents to be wary of rogue door-to-door fish sellers charging high prices for large quantities of fish that turn out to be off and misdescribed.

Trading Standards are asking consumers to be vigilant after several reports came in from residents of Worcestershire about individuals selling fish door-to-door.

A number of complaints are from the Malvern Hills area.

Consumers have paid high prices for large quantities of fish that turned out to be off and on inspection were clearly not the ‘line caught fish, straight from the boat’ as described by the salesman.

The scam typically targets older and most vulnerable residents.

Councillor Lucy Hodgson, Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Communities said: “These traders try to sell customers a large quantity of poor quality fish at excessively high prices.

"They use manipulative and intimidating tactics to get customers to buy large amounts of fish they do not want or need.

“They are known to travel nationally, selling fish which is often misdescribed, mislabelled or unlabelled, overpriced and sometimes already off.”

Worcestershire Trading Standards is advising local residents to say a firm no to all doorstep sellers and to buy their fish from a reputable trader.

Anyone who has been approached by a door-to-door fish seller in this manner should contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 0808 223 1133.