LEAFLETS pushed through doors in Skipton and surrounding areas urging donations of old clothes for the "Children's Welfare Foundation" have been confirmed as a scam.

The leaflets urged people to leave out old clothes which would help organise "holiday accommodation in Blackpool for many critically and terminally ill children", build a school in Nepal and fight malaria in Africa.

But North Yorkshire Trading Standards, confirmed the collection was a scam.

Coun Polly English smelled a rat as soon as a leaflet was pushed through her door.

She had just been listening to a programme on Radio Two hosted by Jeremy Vine exposing the use of private firms posing as charities to collect goods.

Items collected are then sold at auctions and second hand shops or pulped, taking business from genuine charities.

Trading standards contacted the police but the group pushing the leaflets through the door had fled when they arrived.

Now Coun English is urging people not to leave out clothing.

The leaflet is plausible in that it uses a genuine charity's name and its charity number. But the information line is a premium rate number which would cost a small fortune if dialled.

It urges people to send unwanted clothing, bedding, paired shoes, towels, curtains, and soft toys in a bag and leave them outside the door for collection.

And it points out that "by the time you have finished reading this flyer six children will have died".

Coun English said: "The people behind this are making private profits through emotional blackmail and taking business away from genuine charities."

Ruth Taylor, section leader of the Fraud and Special Investigation Unit at North Yorkshire County Council, said posing as a charity to collect goods for private profit was fraud.

There was nothing wrong with asking for donations, provided the firm was up front about where the money went.

The leaflets being distributed around the Skipton area deceived people into thinking money raised would go to a charitable cause.