Channel 4 was at the centre of another TV phone-in scandal last night, after it emerged that viewers were encouraged to call up to win a free �500 bet at the Cheltenham Festival, even though the contest had already closed.

The channel admitted the mistake, and promptly close down all Cheltenham phone-ins, as well as severing ties with the troubled phone operator Eckoh.

A source quoted by The Sun blamed a "technical error", as Eckoh was "unable to change the message on the phone lines".

This latest controversy comes after a host of programmes were revealed to be conning viewers out of thousands of pounds. The shows involved include everything from The X Factor to Richard & Judy.

Last night ITV also moved to ditch it's ITV Play channel, which was one of the phone-in services under scrutiny.

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