MOBILE phone company Vodafone last night said it would try to come to an arrangement with a North-East factory worker who ran up a £27,000 mobile phone bill in only four weeks.

Ian Simpson, from Darlington, said he laughed out loud when he learnt how much money he owed, thinking it a ludicrous amount.

But the 29-year-old - who wired his mobile phone to his laptop computer to download television shows - was shocked to learn that his £41.50-a-month deal did not include unlimited internet use. Mr Simpson fears the £27,322 bill could force him into bankruptcy.

Last night, a spokesman for his supplier Voadaphone told The Northern Echo: "We have some sympathy and we will try and come to some arrangement with Mr Simpson over the bill. But the instructions are clear on the contract as to what the tariff includes."

Mr Simpson's bill detailed hundreds of extra charges for online use - some costing £18 a minute. His problems began after he signed up for a Vodafone Anytime 800 contract and added a £7.50 inclusive internet deal to allow him to use his phone to surf the internet. He said: "My mate told me how to wire my mobile to my laptop as a modem. It meant I could download faster than on the handset and get a proper internet connection in my flat.

"I probably downloaded 20 or 30 TV shows and four albums. I assumed it would be okay, but they (Vodafone) cut me off. I rang up and they said I owed them nearly £30,000. I just laughed out loud - how on earth could I afford that?

"If I'd known it would cost so much, I wouldn't have done it."

Vodafone said that its rules state the web deal has a limit of 120 megabytes of downloads - a package designed for the casual user - to check e-mails, browse the internet and download a limited amount of music.

A spokesman for the company said: "Few customers exceed the fair usage. But it seems clear Ian has run up these charges legitimately. The rules are clearly stated. Mobile web pages use fewer megabytes. That package is not designed for large-scale downloading or computer-speed web use."

Mr Simpson is reported to have said that he has no way of paying and could be forced to declare himself bankrupt.

"I cannot believe they (Vodafone) would let me run up such an enormous bill - £27,000 would almost buy me a flat where I live.

"I can't even afford a mortgage, so I rent a room. Unless they take a sensible approach, I don't think I'll have any choice but to go bankrupt."

But Vodafone said that his downloading was so intensive that he had already run up a massive bill by the time the company's systems flagged up something was wrong. The spokesman said: "Our advice would be to never use a mobile as a modem. We will try to come to some sympathetic arrangement. And we hope he won't make the same mistake again."

An oil worker in Canada gained international media attention earlier this month when he received a bill for $85,000 (£41,000) after he too used his mobile phone as a modem for his computer as part of an unlimited browser plan from Bell Mobility, a division of Bell Canada.

Do you know Ian Simpson? If so, call our newsdesk on 01325-505054.