A FORMER policeman plagued by more than two dozen silent phone calls discovered he was the victim of a computer glitch.

BT put traces on the "sinister" calls after the retired West Mercia officer feared he had become the target of a criminal with a grudge.

But BT discovered the man, who had been the victim of a malicious caller in the past, was being hounded by a Sky Broadcasting computer which had developed a fault.

Now Mid-Worcestershire MP Peter Luff is demanding the Government stops the menace of anonymous calls from telesales firms.

He said organisations regularly withheld their phone numbers when calling potential customers.

During one week, the retired policeman and his wife received an average of four calls a day where there was no one on the other end.

When they dialled 1471, they heard a "caller withheld his number" message.

"The man's wife was particularly upset, she was very distressed," said Mr Luff. "For a week it was a misery for them.

"Sky's computer has obviously gone wrong. It kept on calling the number, but never put my constituents through to an operator.

"But because they withheld the number, it wasn't possible to work out what was happening and put it right quickly.

"My constituents were genuinely fearful about what was happening until BT provided the information.

"I defend absolutely the right of individuals to withhold their number, but commercial organisations seeking to sell things to ordinary people should have no such right.

"That's why I've written to the Government and tabled a parliamentary question on the subject."

He said it could be that existing legislation on malicious calls could cover this case.

"Sky would be delighted to hear from the customer and help him with this matter, should Sky be at fault," said Sky press officer Julian Eccles.

Anyone who wants information on blocking calls from telesales companies, or from any caller who withholds their number, should contact BT on 0800 398893.