Ref. 29536-7TRADING Standards officials were out in force yesterday to warn Swindon's bargain hunters of the dangers of one day sales.

They issued leaflets and advice to hundreds of people queuing outside the De Vere Hotel at Shaw Ridge for the chance to buy top brand goods at knockdown prices.

Organised by Manchester-based Jones Webb, the event offered televisions from £50, Sony PlayStation 2s at £25 and laptop computers at £50.

Senior consumer advice officer Carla Baker said that although such events are not illegal, people needed to be aware of the pitfalls that could leave them out of pocket or lumbered with purchases not worth what they were priced.

"Some people will leave thinking they have got a bargain and it is only when they start shopping around that they realise they could have got it cheaper elsewhere," she said.

She added that people thought because the sale was being held at a prestigious hotel it must be all right. But all the DeVere had done was to rent the company a room. The hotel did not endorse it in any way.

A spokesman for Jones Webb, who preferred not to give his name, stated: "If anybody has any problems we provide a full aftercare service and we give everybody a telephone number to call. If people come in and want to buy, they buy. Nobody holds a gun to their head."