POLICE and mobile phone companies have urged victims of nuisance calls to report them immediately in the wake of a case which proved "a living nightmare" for a family in the region.

Kristin Thompson was made the subject of a two-year restraining order and told to complete 100 hours community punishment by magistrates on Thursday after she admitted waging a vendetta against a love rival.

A court in Richmond, North Yorkshire, was told Thompson launched her hate campaign as she believed her boyfriend had rekindled an affair with another woman.

In 37 days, she called Dawn Atkinson's mobile 459 times and, even when her victim moved to her mother's hotel in Aysgarth, Wensleydale, Thompson started calling her there.

Yesterday, a police spokeswoman said anyone who receives nuisance calls should report them to the police immediately.

"If anyone is frightened or worried, even after a handful of calls, we want to know," she said. "It is far better they are reported than the victim takes risks themselves."

Ben Rosier, spokesman for mobile phone company Orange, agreed nuisance calls should be dealt with at once.

"We take a pro-active view on this and have a number of services we can offer victim of malicious calls," he said.

"Once we have identified the source, we can block that number and, if necessary, alert a rival service provider to the problem.

"As well as co-operating with the police, we can also offer the victim a new number free of charge, so our advice to anyone who receives nuisance calls is to act immediately."