A MUM is warning motorists to be on their guard after she was pulled over by a fake cop and asked to step out of her car.

Shocked mum-of-two Angela Smith, of Scott Avenue, Baxenden, believes she might have been followed from the petrol station on Manchester Road, Rising Bridge, before being stopped on the nearby Accrington by-pass .

Mrs Smith, 34, whose husband Tim is a sergeant with North Yorkshire Police, said: "I was travelling to my friend's house at about 7pm when a dark Peugeot car appeared behind me with blue lights flashing on the dashboard.

"The lights were flashing in time with the headlights and I thought it was an undercover police car so I pulled over into the lay-by.

"A man got out and came up to my window and said he was from a mobile speed patrol and did I know how fast I was travelling?

"I replied: 'Yes, 60mph' but he then asked me to get out of the car."

Mrs Smith whose husband has been in the police force for 16 years, said he had always told her to ask for a warrant card.

She added: "He looked scruffy and his car was dirty and something just didn't feel right about the situation so I only opened my window a centimetre.

"When I asked him for his warrant card he ran back into his car and drove off.

"He was a big man and I was travelling on my own.

"I don't know what would have happened if I had got out of the car. I dread to think.

"I just want to warn people so no-one else falls victim to a bogus police officer."

The man is described as in his 40s, of stocky build, with dark greasy hair and a greasy complexion.

Accrington Police said they were investigating and confirmed that no similar incidents had been reported.