"THIS email is received just before the carbon copy killer strikes. So far every victim has received an identical email to this."

That chilling message told Dave Marsh he was being stalked by a serial killer.

Dave, 58, and his partner, Val, opened a bundle which was sent through the post to their house in Millfield Lane, York.

Included were graphic pictures of an horrific crime - photographs of bloody bullets, and the injuries of victims.

Newspaper clippings said a serial killer was on the loose and identified the latest victim as...Dave Marsh.

Fortunately the dossier was not real, but a bogus crime file sent out by TV station Channel Five to advertise new crime show CSI: NY.

But Mr Marsh said the brown A4 envelope, stamped with the words "sealed evidence" and "graphic crime scene material", had upset him and his partner.

Five has defended its advertising package, but the broadcaster has been ordered by the Advertising Standards Authority to stop sending out the envelopes.

Mr Marsh said it had been a bit of a shock when he read who the victim was.

"The whole concept of it is wrong," he said. "I have never received anything like this before.

"This could have gone to elderly people, or even children. It's a terrible way to promote something and I am not happy that it has upset Val."

The file tells how the "killer" targets people with the same surname, includes a psychological profile, with close-up shots of the other victims - including one which purports to show a ligature injury around a neck.

It is estimated that 55,000 of the bundles have been sent out to promote the popular US drama.

But Val said: "I got so far and I had to throw it to Dave. It's a bit sick and grisly. I didn't know it was for a TV programme. It was a bit of a shock when I saw the name of the victim. It has sickened me to be honest."

A Five spokesman said: "CSI:NY is a gritty, cutting edge US drama and Five believes the marketing of the series should honestly reflect that.

"It is made very obvious this material is promoting a drama, with the name of the series and channel clearly printed on both the envelope and document folder.

"In light of the efforts we have made to make the nature of the contents so transparent, we are surprised a very small minority of recipients have mistaken it as anything else.

"Everyone who was sent this promotion has expressed an interest in receiving details about this particular genre of programming on various websites. We have also received emails and calls from recipients praising the originality and imagination of the campaign."

An Advertising Standards Authority spokeswoman said: "We have received about 30 complaints about the CSI:NY advertising.

"We have spoken to Five and asked them to stop sending out further copies of the material until we have completed an investigation."

Updated: 10:07 Saturday, January 29, 2005