POLICE have issued an apology to a company they accused of being involved in a cold calling scam.

CPR Global Ltd were said to be charging people for a service which prevents unwanted cold calls when the Telephone Preference Service is available free of charge.

Chris English from the Southend Crime and Disorder Partnership said: "We issued this warning with every good intention based on the information provided to us. We have since discovered that the named company provide a different service to that provided by the Telephone Preference Service and, as such, we should not have directly compared the two.

"We would like to apologise unreservedly to CPR Global Ltd for releasing this inaccurate information and for any inconvenience caused."