SKY TV has held its hands up to an error which resulted in direct debits being set up without its customers' consent.

Sky channel subscribers in York reacted angrily to the bungle, which could have led to monthly payments of £9 being taken out of their accounts for the next two years.

Customers including Elaine Sellers, of Stockton-on-the-Forest, received letters out of the blue from Sky thanking them for their inquiries about Skycare insurance and providing them with direct debit forms containing their bank details.

One family even had a direct debit set up, but managed to inform the company of their unwillingness to become part of the scheme before the first payment went out.

Mrs Sellers said: "I was disgusted. I'm concerned they are passing on such details. I don't mind if they pass on my name, but bank details are personal.

"A colleague at work also got a letter, but they had actually set up the direct debit with her bank.

"She managed to stop it before any payments went out, but it's a bit worrying to think they could be sending your bank details to all and sundry."

A spokeswoman for Sky said the error was unfortunate, but had been resolved.

She said: "Skycare is something that we offer and it's an insurance policy that you can take out after the 12-month warranty has expired.

"This isn't provided by Sky itself, but by London General Holdings Ltd.

"Because of some technical difficulties some customers' direct debits have been set up without them agreeing to it.

"This is a technical hitch which was short lived and has been rectified.

"Any customers who have had that experience can call Sky customer services and sort it out that way.

"We apologise to customers for any inconvenience and will reimburse anyone who has had payments withdrawn from their bank accounts."

She described the fault as a system error or a clerical error explaining that customers would first be offered the insurance over the phone and due to some sort of computer error their negative responses were not being recognised.