BOLTON householders are being warned to beware of workmen posing as council workers turning up at their homes and offering to drop kerbs for them.

Two gangs have been knocking on doors in Farnworth and Horwich for the past two weeks offering to perform the work at cut rate prices.

They claim to be from Bolton Council's Highways Department and have false identity cards and paperwork. They use vans - a yellow Neco truck (A117 HBA) and a white Ford transit van (G598 NVH) - bought from Kennedy's Construction Company and are operating under the name J Kennedy.

However, a council spokesman has warned the workmen are not from the Local Authority, and has slammed their work as "substandard".

He said: "These gangs of workmen have nothing to do with the Council or Kennedy's. We would not tout for business in this way and we always send something in writing before any work is carried out.

"The work these gangs are doing is substandard and members of the public who have had such work done could be prosecuted. I urge any householder who is contacted by either of these gangs not to agree to anything and to contact the Council's Environmental Management Unit immediately. If any householder is thinking of carrying out such work they should contact the Unit for a quote." The Unit is based at Milton house, Wellington Street, Bolton. Telephone 01204 535241.

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