A Halton resident has received an unsolicited telephone call stating their potentially lifesaving "Lifeline" alarm service was going to be shut down for 24 hours.

Halton Borough Council, which runs the service, said the call was is a scam and there are no issues with Lifeline.

The Lifeline is a unit attached to a person’s telephone landline and is used to monitor  sensors that detect falls, movement, property exits along with a raft of environmental sensors.

Executive board member for Trading Standards Cllr Dave Cargill said: “If you receive any calls offering to fix a problem that you didn’t know you had, or somebody claiming they are from your bank or an official organisation, don’t give the caller any details.

“Explain that, on the advice of Trading Standards, you need to check first that the call is genuine and then put the phone down.

"Wait for five minutes and then contact the company they claim to be from on the usual number you have for them, do not use any numbers that the caller has given you. ”

Cllr Cargill said if you or somebody you know has been caught out by a scam contact one of the authority's specialist officers, Linda or Sue, on 0151 511 8785 or 0151 511 8775, who are already working with people in Halton who have lost thousands of pounds to scammers