Community leaders have savaged an advertising campaign which names and shames streets in Coventry where residents do not have a TV licence.

Coventry North East MP Bob Ainsworth has joined Cllr David Cairns and Rev Nerissa Jones in voicing dismay over the decision to use a road in Wood End.

The adverts, which are being run in cities all over the country, reveal how many houses in a particular road do not have a licence.

Mr Ainsworth has joined the chorus of disapproval at the use of Milverton Road in the adverts.

He said he is writing a letter of complaint to the TV Licensing Authority to express his disgust at the use of “negative and demoralising tones” in an area where many are working hard to improve life for the residents.

£50 million is being pumped into Wood End and the surrounding areas to try and revitalise them under the Government’s New Deal for Communities scheme.

Mr Ainsworth said:

“There are a great many people working hard at uplifting the Wood End area and this type of campaign is a disgrace which casts aspersion on whole streets.

“When they shamed villains in medieval times by public humiliation, they put them in the stocks, but they didn’t put their neighbours in the stocks as well.

"I want them to get the people who break the law and make them pay, their TV licence. I don't want them to put a stigma on a particular address."

Complaints previously made to the Advertising Standards Authority about the campaign have been rejected.

Alyson Koe, of TV Licensing, said the streets were pulled out at random, but tended to be long roads so the campaign would have an impact.

She said:

“TV Licensing makes no apologies for this campaign. It has proved extremely successful in tackling evasion in other cities across the UK.

"We aim to make TV licence evaders realise that they will be caught and to show the general public that we are taking action against these people who are being unfair on the honest majority who do pay their licence.

"We can assure Mr Ainsworth that the streets are randomly selected and chosen without prejudice.

"Our database collates all the streets in a general area where two or more unlicensed properties are listed. Major streets are then identified as these will act as a focal point for the community and be easily recognisable.

"They do not represent evasion hot-spots. The aim is illustrate that we have the tools to pinpoint where vasion is taking place."