People are being warned that abusive charity collectors saying they are raising money for the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service are frauds.

The fire service has issued the warned about being contacted by two people saying they were distressed after the bogus calls that included hard sells and abusive language.

A spokesman for the fire service Ellie Gray said the woman suspected the cold caller was a fake, and questioned them which charity they were working on behalf of.

But the caller became aggravated and started to shout "extremely verbally abusive" language over the phone.

Iain Harrison, Group manager for Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service, said the service often raises money for various charities, such as the Fire Fighters Charity.

However, Mr Harrison said official charity or fundraising events will always have uniformed staff on hand, who will be happy to present their identification.

He said: "RBFRS has been contacted on two separate occasions recently by people concerned about phone calls they have received where the caller either claims to be selling advertising or fundraising for the fire and rescue service. "In the most recent case, the caller became extremely verbally abusive when asked questions about exactly which organisation it was he was claiming to raise money for.

"We do, on occasion, also use third party organisations to gain feedback from Berkshire residents to help us improve our service but they will never ask for money."