COPY cat websites are charging extra to help people fill out forms to renew official documents, Wigan Trading Standards is warning.

The warning was issued following a number of residents complained they had paid extra to renew their passports and licenses from websites that appeared to be legitimate but are not official government sites.

Fees for help filling out a form can range from £20 for an EU health insurance card - which is free from the NHS - to £90 to update an address on a driving license - also free from the DVLA.

Clr Terry Halliwell, said: “People can easily be taken in by these websites. Consumers who were caught out assumed the first few sites that appeared in the results of internet searches were the sites they needed to use, particularly when these site have official sounding domains.”

To renew a passport or driving license the official website is www.gov.uk and to apply for a free health insurance card go to www.nhs.uk and search for EHIC.