TRADING standards chiefs are warning consumers to be on their guard against an advertising initiative which has hit Warrington.

Residents are receiving personally addressed envelopes containing a newspaper clipping featuring success stories about a weight loss drug.

But unusually the top of the article contains a handwritten note, as though it had been sent by a friend.

The Advertising Standards Agency has received numerous complaints about the ad, from Health Laboratories of North America International, and is taking action against the Netherlands-based company.

The slimming aid claims to enable major weight loss without hunger or calorie counting.

But trading standards officers in Warrington are urging caution before people part with their cash, as the firm does not have an address in the UK