POLICE have warned residents in Weymouth and Portland not to fall for a fake lottery letter which is part of a scam trying to get money out of people.

Letters from Madrid claiming to be from Loteria Primitiva, the National Lottery of Spain, are being received locally, police said.

A Dorset Police spokesman said: “The letters are addressed to people personally and state they have been approved for a large sum of money, over a million Euros.

“The letters have the lottery logo on them in an attempt to make them official.

“Accompanying the letter is a form to be returned, requesting all personal details, next of kin and bank details.

“Please be aware that this is a scam.

“This has been confirmed by the British National Lottery fraud department.

“All these people want is your details to raid your bank account or purchase goods in your name.

“Please do not respond to these letters.”