A Gloucestershire County Council worker was tricked into transferring nearly £19,000 to a scammer posing as their boss using a fake email address.

The incident happened in 2016, but only came to light following a Freedom of Information request by the Stroud News & Journal.

The member of staff was conned into transferring £18,980.54, following an email which appeared to be from the council's chief executive asking for an urgent payment to be made.

The council has only recovered £9160.38 of the money.

A Gloucestershire school maintained by the council has also fallen prey to fraud, although it is not yet known how much was taken. Scammers intercepted a supplier's email and told the school their bank details had changed.

Councillors have not been informed about either case, Gloucestershire Liberal Democrats told the Stroud News & Journal.

But the council's Conservative leadership says it has a strong record of dealing with fraud and a separate committee, chaired by an opposition councillor, which checks procedures are working.