TRADING standards officials are warning people not to respond to the latest chain letter being circulated.

The letter, which purports to originate in Norfolk, urges the recipient to earn £40,000 in cash by sending a gift of £10 to the top name on a list of six and then copying the letter 200 times to chosen individuals.

Recipients are then told to add their own name to the top of the list.

North Yorkshire County Council's trading standards service says that if something seems too good to be true, it usually is, and are advising people to throw the letters away.