HUNDREDS of North-East punters may have lost thousands of pounds after being duped by a horse race betting scam.

Fraud officers are investigating an international betting set up, after complaints from people conned into parting with thousands of pounds through a bogus horse racing syndicate.

The inquiry, involving Northumbria Police and Scotland Yard, is looking for a group calling itself David Harrison Racing - but detectives are keen to point out that there is no link between the fraudsters and the jockey, David Harrison.

The outfit targets people first by post and then by telephone with the offer of easy cash from betting. Victims are told it's a no-lose situation.

Posing as a consortium of racehorse owners, they convince people to open a Ladbrokes account and place a minimum £1,500 bet on a particular horse and race.

If the horse loses, the consortium promises to pay back the original stake - plus ten per cent.

If the horse wins, the punter can keep the stake, plus ten per cent of the winnings, with the rest going to the consortium.

But the losers never hear from "David Harrison" again, and do no get any money back.

Detective Constable Ray Canham, of Northumbria's new Economic Crime Unit, said it was not yet known how many people had been taken in.

"Inquiries are at an early stage at the moment and the full extent of the scam is not known," he said. "It appears on the face of it that these people are past masters at convincing others to take part in something against their better judgement."