The RSPCA has this week warned Burnham-On-Sea residents to look out for a person who they believe is a bogus door-to-door collector.
It comes after local resident Ann Osborne, of St Andrew’s Road in Burnham, became suspicious when a man knocked on her door asking for a donation.
He claimed to be from Battersea Cats and Dogs Home, and was collecting funds on behalf of the Brent Knoll RSPCA Centre.
She turned him away before contacting the local centre to ask whether the man was officially working for them.
But when they said they knew nothing about him, it was realised he was probably a conman.
A spokeswoman at the RSPCA centre in Brent Knoll said this week that the news is ‘distressing’. It added that the charity never knocks on doors asking for donations, but does collect at local supermarkets. The charity is recommending that residents ask for the collector’s photo ID.
The man was described as being well-dressed, aged in his 20s, with light-coloured hair and wearing a hi-visibility band around him.
Anyone with information about the collector or suspicions about collectors can contact police on 101.
