A Keighley man suffering from cancer claims he is unable to tell his friends about his illness due to problems sending e-mail.

Tom Kovic has blasted cable firm Telewest for not fixing the e-mail service he subscribes to as part of a digital TV package.

Mr Kovic, of Quebec House, Aireworth Street, signed up to e-mail so he could communicate with old friends around the world.

One in particular, a woman living in Papua New Guinea, cannot be reached by letter and does not know that Mr Kovic has contracted prostate cancer.

Mr Kovic says he has been able to send only a handful of e-mails since he was connected to cable TV last October.

He says in most cases the line is busy and he cannot send an e-mail despite trying dozens of times over several days.

At other times the letter he has written on his TV screen is lost without trace.

Mr Kovic is dismayed that he is stuck with the £9 a month service for at least another six months and cannot afford to buy a computer to replace it.

A Telewest representative this week apologised to Mr Kovic for the problems he has experienced with the service. She adds: "We are continuing to investigate the cause and will be in contact with Mr Kovic to carry out further tests and endeavour to resolve the problem as soon as possible."