Fraudsters are reportedly targeting residents over the phone in Watford.

Watford Borough Council says people living in the town are being cold-called by scammers offering free home checks for loft insulation.

The council says cold calls about loft insulation, as well as solar panels, new boilers, and a cavity wall insulation is a scam.

One person, whose mother appears to have received one of these calls, responded to the council's warning on social media stating: "Apparently the loft insulation that was fitted a while ago had been found to potentially degrade over time and they wanted to book an infra-Red heat loss scan for Wednesday.

"The person didn’t use a recognisable company or organisation name and wasn’t able to explain to me how they knew the details and yet didn’t know in advance if the insulation here was faulty.

"Thankfully my mother who’s over 90, let me talk to them."

If any residents receive a call of this nature, the council is advising to tell the caller they are not interested and to not allow the trader into their home.

The council says a fraud can be reported to the police by contacting Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or by visiting ttps://www.actionfraud.police.uk