A firm in the West Midlands has been fined £70,000 for making a whopping 40,000 ‘frightening’ nuisance calls in just 24 hours.

Nearly 10,000 of Dudley-based Direct Security Marketing Ltd’s illegal calls were made between 1am and 6am. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has imposed the fine after the company, which was trying to sell burglar alarms, was prosecuted last November.

In one case, an 84-year-old woman, who had been burgled twice in the previous 18 months, tripped and twisted her knee trying to get to the phone.

Andy Curry, who is the group enforcement manager at ICO, said:

"It’s natural when the phone rings in the early hours to fear it’s bad news and perhaps a relative is seriously ill. That’s what people who received these calls told us they thought.

"Automated calls at any time can leave people feeling unsettled. But to receive a call trying to sell you a burglar alarm in the middle of the night must have been very frightening."

The company was prosecuted for not being notified with the ICO last November and was asked to pay out more than £1,000.