A PREMIUM rate telephone line that has sparked angry protests from hundreds of Evening Press readers was still running today - despite a pledge from a communications watchdog to close it down.

As reported in later editions of yesterday's Evening Press, telephone watchdog ICSTIS said it was pulling the plug on Ashford Promotions, of Bucks, whose sister organisation, Disbursement Claims, sent letters to people all over York telling them they had won one of a range of major prizes.

However, Ashford Promotions, which has admitted people had only a one in 9,000 chance of winning a big cash prize but denied its literature was misleading, said it would be seeking a High Court injunction to stop any such move.

Today, the 0896 premium rate phone line, which costs 'winners' £6 to discover their 'prize', was still running and letters were still being sent to residents in the York area.

An ICSTIS spokesman said it was the responsibility of network operator, World Telecom, to take action, and was confident the line would be closed today.

York mum Nicola Dowson, of Rawdon Avenue, was shocked that her four-year-old daughter Jennifer received one of the letters. She wondered how the company got her daughter's name. But she did not ring the line, after reading in the Evening Press. She said:

"Thanks to the Evening Press, I've saved £6."

But Acomb man Stephen Smith was not so lucky. He rang the line today - only to be told by a friend of the Evening Press' articles on the company.

He said he was unhappy the line was still open after yesterday's promise from ICSTIS and will battle not to pay the £6 call charge.

More than 300 readers have swamped the Evening Press with calls to say they received letters from the company telling them they had won one of a range of major prizes, including £975 in cash, a TV, video and a "lifetime personal telephone number".

More than 30 said they rang the claim to discover they had all won the telephone number.

Yesterday, ICSTIS said it had recommended the network operator World Telecom to bar calls to all premium rate lines run by Ashford Promotions.

ICSTIS said the line was to be closed because the firm had still not paid an outstanding £2,000 fine for breaches of the industry code of practice, and complaints that it was still using misleading material and that people had not received the prizes to which they were entitled.

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