A Havering councillor has warned residents to be on their guard against scam phone calls.

Romford Town ward’s Cllr Frederick Thompson put out the warning after being receiving the calls repeatedly.

He said: “If it’s a recorded message and it says ‘press 9 to opt-out’ just hang up.

“I looked up the number on the internet and I found out that if you press the number you end up charging a massive debit to your phone bill.

“If you just hang up the message keeps playing but it does end eventually.”

He added: “I think the people doing this are despicable, they are targeting the vulnerable and elderly.”