A WATER company has issued a guide to customers on how to spot bogus doorstep callers.

Thames Water, which serves Swindon, has produced a pack which lists steps to take when visited by people claiming to be from a water, gas, electricity or telephone company. These include:

n Looking carefully at the caller's identity card and any photograph on it.

n Checking that the card is not out of date and has not been tampered with.

n Using a spy hole and a door chain or consider investing in them.

Customers can also take part in the company's Password Scheme, when Thames Water staff use a designated password when calling on participants.

Thames Water customer services manager Jill Jones said: "We take the issue of bogus callers very seriously.

"Our guide is designed to give peace of mind to customers who may feel vulnerable when answering the door to an unknown caller."

To order a bogus caller pack free of charge, customers can ring Thames Water's 24 hour customer care centre on (0845) 920 0800.