RESIDENTS in Blackbird Leys are being warned to watch out for bogus charity collectors on the estate.

Bags have been put through doors, claiming to be collecting clothes for charity Children’s Hearts.

But Oxford City Council says some of the collectors may not be working for the charity.

Council recycling officer Emily Martin said: “This is the second time this has come to our attention.

“We believe people are using legitimate bags from the charity, but are using the textiles they collect for their own gain.

“We really want to make people aware that they should check collectors.

“If they see a van and they are uncertain, they should take the registration number and check with the charity.

“And if someone comes to the door, people working for legitimate charities will have ID, so check them and if they don’t have one, don’t let them have the bags.”

She added: “I don’t want this to be bad publicity for the charity, because there are a lot of legitimate collectors out there.

“But people need to check. There’s a lot of money to be made out there.”

The charity confirmed its bags were being used by people not associated with the organisation.

In September, the head of retail at Helen & Douglas House, David Cryer, warned consumers to read the small print on collection bags.

And a British Heart Foundation survey found that only about 30 per cent of items donated via letterbox charity bags actually end up in high street charity shops, with most of it sold abroad for private profit.

Last night, Oxfordshire Trading Standards head Richard Webb said: “People need to look at the small print and make sure it’s going to a charity.

“Many commercial companies use them as a way to make money, with a vague commitment about an overall goal to help a charity.”

He added: “We’ve also heard about people using fake bags before, but it’s always very difficult to catch people doing that.

“Often you will find the person delivering the bags won’t actually be involved with the set-up, they’ll simply have been paid to deliver them for a day. So it’s very hard to catch the culprits.”

If you get a bogus bag, report any information, such as descriptions of the collectors and vehicle registrations, to trading standards on 0845 051 0845.