Internet service provider Telewest could be banned from the UseNet information board for failing to tackle spam.

In response to the more than one million spam messages that have come from Telewest accounts, UseNet has issued a UseNet Death Penalty, said member David Ritz.

The Death Penalty would ensure the ban of all Telewest users from UseNet newsgroups until the ISP takes action to get rid of the spammers, he added.

Telewest admitted that it has received a warning from Usenet and that it was working on the problem.

A spokesman for the ISP said there had been an explosion of Open Relays [virtual servers that allow spam to be multiplied through the network], and that the company was contacting customers telling them to shut them down.

"There is a small minority of users who are evasive but it is an ongoing issue for all ISPs," the spokesman said.

The EU is currently looking at ways of limiting the activity of spammers and is due to vote on a ban at the end of this month.