People in West Cumbria are being warned to be on their guard against fake texts suggesting they are due a council tax refund.

Allerdale council has been contacted by a number of customers saying they have received such texts, which appear to be a phishing scam.

A spokesman said: "If customers are due a refund the council informs them by post. If the council has the customer’s bank details it pays the refund direct. If not, the customer is asked to contact the council direct to arrange a refund.

"The council is therefore advising anyone who receives any text of this type to not click on any links and just to delete it.

"These texts have not come from the council, and the council’s IT systems have not been compromised in any way."