AN ELDERLY couple are at their wits' end after being swamped with letters claiming they have won cash prizes.

Margaret and Charles Johnson, of St Andrew's Road, Pershore, have been inundated with more than 100 letters over the past six months claimed to be from organisations with names such as the "Awards Processing Centre" and "Allied Payments".

The letters normally say they have won a cash prize - but that they need to send a cash advance for the cheque to be released.

The letters have come from different places across the country, including Colchester, Swindon, Bath and Bristol.

The revelation comes days after Worcestershire County Council's Trading Standards office called for urgent action to crack down on bogus competitions that demand cash up front.

Eighty-four-year-old Mrs Johnson said they often got two a day and had once sent off some money to see what happened but never heard back.

She now says enough is enough and wants to see action taken to put an end to their misery.

"We keep ripping them up and putting them in the bin but they just keep coming - it's getting past a joke and I should think the postman is fed up of it too," she said.

The couple were also previously bombarded with telephone calls claiming they had won prizes - but had them stopped.

Worcestershire Trading Standards spokeswoman Charlotte Renshaw said people should ignore such letters.

"Our advice is you don't get something for nothing so if someone tells you you've won a holiday or an amount of money it's likely it's a scam unless you know you've specifically entered anything," she said.

"In terms of the telephone numbers they ask you to call to claim your prize, you can rack up huge phone bills without really knowing it and the prize you get is often nothing like you thought it was."

Anyone concerned they have fallen victim to a scam can call the consumer advice line on 01905 765373 or log on to www.worcestershire.

gov.uk/tradingstandards