Irish town flooded with phone calls intended for X-rated TV station

Jan. 24 (UPI) -- People living in a town in Ireland have been plagued by accidental late-night phone calls from people attempting to reach an X-rated TV station.

Residents of the town of Westport have received phone calls intended for U.K.-based channel Babestation and Regional Development Minister Michael Ring said they have become "aggravated and annoyed," The Independent reported.

"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," he said.

The annoying late night calls are the result of Irish viewers attempting to contact Babestation's premium-rate numbers, which begin with 098, without adding an international dialing code to reach the U.K., according to the BBC.

Ring, the Fine Gael politician, has contacted the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland the Republic of Ireland's communications sector regulator, ComReg, to find a solution that will not require the residents to change their phone numbers.

He said he "did everything they could" and BAI chief executive Michael O'Keeffe said Babestation was contacted about the issue.

"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 said the regulator was also working to fix the problem, but encouraged callers to use the international dialing code while trying to reach the station.

"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," the spokesperson said.