CONSUMER watchdogs are warning people to be extra vigilant when they buy anything at car boot sales.

The warning comes from Hartlepool Borough Council's trading standards department after a resident paid £70 by Visa credit card for garden furniture she bought from a sale at Catterick racecourse recently.

The set she bought was in a sealed box, and when she got home and opened it she discovered it was much poorer quality than the one on display.

When she looked at the Visa receipt, she saw the goods were described as "bacon" - a description which had been added to the receipt after she had signed it.

The trader's name on the receipt was Wayne Walker Meats and, when she returned to the same market a week later, the seller was nowhere to be seen.

Malcolm Graham, the council's senior trading standards officer, said: "If you pay for something by credit card, you can usually claim against the credit card company if you have a valid claim. However, the threshold for this is over £100. The only person this woman could claim off was Wayne Walker Meats.

"If you go to any car boot sale or market, and the trader sells you goods in a box, always open it and check the contents to make sure it is what you think you are buying."