A warning has been issued for people to think twice before taking up the offer of a free holiday.

Oxfordshire trading standards officers say anyone taking up the free offer could be subjected to hard-sell tactics for time-share holiday schemes.

Winifred Painton, of Barn's Road, Cowley, was contacted by Holidays Direct claiming she had won a prize draw, but she does not recall entering the competition.

She said: "We rang the company and got a recorded message. We were then sent an invoice for a booking fee of £29.50 per person for a holiday of our choice to Spain, the Canary Islands or Portugal.

"My husband sent the cash because it all looked quite authentic. But then a friend told me I should be wary. I called trading standards. They said they had been inundated with calls about this kind of thing."

Ms Painton did not hear from the firm but was able to cancel her cheque.

Holidays Direct, also operating under the name UK Consumer Competition, is believed to be based in Bournemouth.

The trading standards office there has been inundated with queries about the company.

Trading standards manager Rob White said: "We are very concerned about the viability of this scheme. Our advice is not to send money unless you are prepared for the possibility of losing it."

Holidays Direct did not respond to the Oxford Mail's inquiries.