An energy company has promised to cancel a care worker's contract after she complained a salesman pressured her into signing it.

Sylvia Bishop has warned people to beware of door-to-door salesman trying to get them to sign contracts for services they do not want or need.

Mrs Bishop, who has worked as a care assistant for adults with learning disabilities for 14 years, said she fell victim to constant persuasive techniques from a salesman from Virgin who called at her workplace at night.

Mrs Bishop was working a late shift at a Frances Taylor Foundation residential home in Norton Road, Hove, when the salesman called.

She said: "Someone opened the door and let the man in and showed him downstairs into the basement where I was working.

"He shouldn't have been shown in but he was. I thought he was here to repair the phone.

"I was very busy and he was waffling on. I didn't really know what he was saying.

"I told him I didn't live there and just worked there and said he should speak to the bursar."

However, Mrs Bishop said she had urgent duties to carry out with the home's clients and wanted to get rid of the salesman.

She said: "He kept going on about BT and gas and electric or something but I was under pressure and just signed a bit of paper to get rid of him.

"I didn't know what I was signing. I felt pressurised."

The following day, the bursar read the paperwork the salesman had left and told Mrs Bishop she had signed a contract to receive Virgin services.

The energy arm of the Virgin group apologised this week after complaints about sales staff.

A spokesman for Virgin Energy said the salesman in this incident would have been calling to promote energy and phones.

He said the contract would be cancelled immediately.