Irish town residents bombarded with calls to X-rated TV channel Babestation

Ireland's Regional Development Minister Michael Ring says constituents are 'aggravated and annoyed'

Other residents have reportedly received calls from people trying to contact Sky television helplines (Screenshot)

Residents of an Irish town are reportedly being harassed by callers trying to reach an X-rated TV channel.

Inhabitants of Westport have been plagued by the late-night landline calls resulting from Irish viewers calling Babestation, the phone-in adult TV station, because they are not using the international dialling code for the UK.

Regional Development Minister Michael Ring said his constituents in County Maro were "aggravated and annoyed".

"They are getting these calls in the middle of night. One of those people has an elderly mother and family members all over the world and there could be a call at any time that they would have to take,” Mr Ring told the Sunday Independent.

Other residents have also reportedly received calls from people trying to contact Sky television helplines, which have similar numbers to landlines in the town.

Mr Ring said the residents should not have to resort to changing their numbers.

The Fine Gael politician has consulted with police, the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) and ComReg, the Republic of Ireland's communications sector regulator, to try and find a solution.

BAI chief executive Michael O'Keeffe said it contacted Babestation on behalf of one complainant.

"It is unfortunate that this issue is still continuing," he said.

"However, the BAI is not in a position to address the problem as it is not within our remit and he was advised at all times we were assisting him as a matter of courtesy."

A spokesperson for ComReg told The Independent: "ComReg has been in contact with its counterpart in the UK and are trying to identify a solution to the issue as soon as possible. We advise anyone calling UK from the Republic of Ireland should always use the prefix 00 44."

Mr Ring also contacted UK regulator Phone-paid Services Authority (PSA).

A PSA spokesman told The Independent it was looking into the problem.