PLANS to attract more visitors to an East Yorkshire town by using a roving replica of a Dalek may be halted by the possibility of legal action.

Town councillors in Bridlington were offered the chance to use the Dr Who character along the seafront and town centre by its owner, Billy Wilkie, but have now postponed a decision over fears there may be copyright issues with the BBC.

Councillors originally voted in principle to support the idea, but Bridlington Town Council will now meet again next month to discuss the legal concerns.

Bridlington’s mayor, Michael Charlesworth, said Mr Wilkie had suggested the problem could be solved by calling the figure a “Darlek” but he did not believe this would work, adding: “It’s a shame because I think it would attract people to the town, but even though you are spelling it a bit differently, it still sounds the same, looks like a Dalek and sounds like a Dalek, so I think there may be some issues there.”

BBC Worldwide, the corporation’s commercial arm, said it was not aware the town council had requested permission to use the Dalek brand.