DRINKERS have been warned not to be taken in by bogus charity collections.

A man visited pubs and businesses in Brierfield on Friday claiming to be collecting cash to give underprivileged children martial arts lessons.

But police say the money was going into his pocket rather than to a good cause.

They were alerted by a pub-goer on Friday, but the man had left before they had chance to confront him.

Sergeant Mark Baines, of Nelson police, said: "It's an old problem that we historically have trouble with in Nelson, Brierfield and Colne.

"This man was simply going round with a collecting bucket and approached several businesses and visited pubs in the area during the afternoon and early evening.

"He was saying he was collecting for charity but we know that this is not the case.

"These people prey on the fact that most people are decent and will put their hand in their pocket if it is for a good cause.

"I don't want to discourage people from giving to charity, but it is important that they make sure the person is a bona fide collector.

"If they are, they will have correct identification badges and a register number for the charity.

"If people are still unsure, they can ring the police station and we can check it for them."

He added that officers were following a number of inquiry lines and were confident of catching the bogus collector.