Police warning over ‘suspicious sellers’

Police have warned that people should be wary of buying goods from cold callers after dozens of reports of suspicious sellers in villages across Sussex, including the Horsham district.

Residents have been calling police and Trading Standards about vans turning up in streets and opening their doors to illegally sell chainsaws and televisions among other items.

There have been reports of people have paying a high price for the items to find they are cheap and of poor quality.

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Sgt Chris O’Leary said: “We have had reports of illegal selling of chainsaws and gardening equipment in numerous locations including Horsham, Littlehampton, Worthing, Uckfield, Hastings, Lewes, Mid Sussex and Rye in recent weeks.

“As a police service we need to reduce the risk to people and warn them to be wary of buying from cold callers. If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is. However, at this time, we have not linked the goods to any theft offences.”