Residents of a picturesque Irish town have been bombarded with calls to X-rated chat lines advertised on the 'Babestation' TV channel.
People living in Westport, County Mayo, have been besieged by men intending to reach the adult phone lines in recent weeks.
Regional Development Minister Michael Ring, who represents the area, has called for action over the mix-up.
The problems appear to have happened because the premium rate numbers are similar to the area’s local landlines, the Irish Independent reported.
Irish callers who failed to enter the UK area code before dialling the number were ending up speaking to confused Westport residents instead.
Mr Ring told the paper: "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.”
The Fine Gael politician has contacted police, Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) and service regulator ComReg over the blunder and warned some constituents were considering changing their numbers becuase of the ditress.
BAI chief executive Michael O'Keeffe said Babestation had been contacted over the problem, adding it was “unfortunate that this issue is still continuing”.
ComReg said it was trying to "identify a solution as soon as possible".
