Watchdog bites Postman Pat

Debt-ridden Postman Pat and Basil Brush media group Entertainment Rights is the latest company to be caught out in the City clampdown on delayed profit warnings.

It was today fined £350,000 by the Financial Services Authority - reduced by 30% because it co-operated with the FSA - for taking more than two-and-a-half months to confess to a huge hole in its accounts.

The company was told last July that its key US DVD distributor was pulling out of certain agreements, which would reduced profits by $13.9 million (£10.2 million). But it only reported the hit at the end of September when an internal report found the Hammersmith-based firm's cash balanced had collapsed by 80%. The shares slumped 55% on the day, and the firm subsequently reported a shock half-year loss of £9 million.