A BOGUS health visitor tricked her way into a house where she examined an 11-week-old baby and stayed for 15 minutes.

The shocked teenage mother who lives in Oakley Way, Caldicot, did not discover the woman had been an impersonator until the following day when she phoned her local health centre.

The incident, which happened on Monday morning, was reported to the police who have now sent out a warning to parents to be vigilant about who they allow over their doorsteps.

The 19-year-old mum, who did not want to be identified, said: "The woman came to the door so early I'd only just got out of bed.

"She told me my normal health visitor who comes to check my son regularly was busy.

"She walked in, picked him up, looked in his eyes, and in his ears and told me she thought he was doing really well.

"Then she sat on my couch and began asking me what my plans were for the rest of the day. Normally the health visitor will talk to my baby and play with him, but she only spent a couple of minutes with him."

The mother, who said the bogus official "was dressed like a health visitor and wore a pin badge of identification on her jacket", said she was horrified when she realised the truth.

"My mum phoned the health centre the following day for another reason and mentioned the woman who had come round. They were immediately suspicious and started checking to see who it was, but no-one knew anything about it.

"That's when we got the police involved because this mustn't happen again. I'm still shocked this could happen."

Detective Inspector Mike Jones said the caller was described as being about 30-years-old, wearing navy trousers, a navy top and jacket with an ID badge on it. She has long brown hair.

He urged people to check the identification of callers. Checks with the health authority over the identity of the official had been negative.

Bill Edwards, county councillor for the Dewstow ward which includes Oakley Way, said: "This is a serious and worrying incident which could really undermine people's confidence."