PEOPLE living in Sampford Courtenay parish are being warned to be on their guard against callers claiming to be from telecoms company Airband – after one parishioner received a visit from a hoax caller.

A parish council spokesperson said: ‘A parishioner has reported being pestered by workmen pertaining to be from Airband and asking for access to her property.

‘She has spoken to Airband directly and has been told that although Airband are working in the area they would not just turn up and ask for access. A letter would be sent out in advance to the homeowner followed by a phone call confirming the appointment.

‘The parishioner in question has received numerous phone calls asking for access and a text left on her land line. The text asked her to press 1 to listen to the message but when she did this there was no message. She tried 3 times to access the message without success. She is now worried this was also a hoax and may receive a charge on her phone bill.’

The parish council’s advice is not to let work crews in without checking with the company.

The parish council suggests that if in any doubt, residents should contact Airband to check whether the callers are genuine.

‘You can email [email protected] or call 01905 676121 to check it out.’

The warning is being taken seriously by Kim Allsebrook of The Beeches, a park homes complex on the main road between Okehampton and Sampford Courtenay.

She said: ‘Obviously I’m worried, especially here where the majority of people are over 70.

‘The day before yesterday, there was van and two boys with high visibility jackets. It turned out they had geniuinely come to do work on the park, but they had given no notification. They start looking around and these elderly people get worried about it; it is not right.’