PEOPLE living in Bradford are being warned about two scams running in the district.

A 78-year-old man from Bingley was this week told he had won £285,000 in a European postcode lottery, and wants to alert people to the scam.

Brian Holmans said he was worried that someone would fall victim to the con and lose money.

Mr Holmans received a letter on Tuesday claiming to be from someone called Harry Buttler, vice-president of the European Postcode Lottery.

"They tell me that I have won £285,000," said Mr Holmans, who rang a phone number on the letter.

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"A bloke with a foreign accent answered. He said he was in London and that if I told him the reference details from the letter then he would ring me back and tell me how to claim the money - but he hasn't rang back."

"It is a very pleasant sort of letter, very well laid out and signed by the vice-president of the European Postcode Lottery.

"I don't fall into these things. They are scams. But people do fall for it, that is the trouble.

"If it looks too good to be true, it is too good to be true. Nobody offers you £285,000 for something you have not even entered.

"I don't want to see anybody tricked."

West Yorkshire Trading Standards also warned Bradford residents about the postcode lottery scam and the demands for handling fees to process claims.

A trading standards spokesman said: "Once paid you will not hear from them again or they will ask for further fees to process the claim which does not exist.

"Never respond to unsolicited mail offering life-changing prize draws or requesting any money from you. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."

The watchdog yesterday also warned consumers to be wary of traders claiming that they have won a free holiday in a prize draw by just completing a health survey.

In a recent case, an elderly Bradford lady paid more than £1,500 after agreeing to the fitting of a ‘water purifier’ to her shower-head after previously purchasing an air purifier from the same company.

Head of West Yorkshire Trading Standards David Lodge said: "The best advice is not to do business on the doorstep, also proceed with caution if called by a trader offering anything described as free. Participation in a ‘survey’ is often employed as a technique to generate sales visits. "Consumers who believe they have been targeted in this way should report it to the Citizen Advice Consumer Helpline on 03454 04 05 06."

Councillor Val Slater, the chairman of the West Yorkshire Trading Standards Committee, said: "Please be on your guard before you sign any contracts with doorstep traders offering inducements for health products. If you do sign remember the law gives you 14 days to cancel."