'City of London' college that's 18 miles from Westminster

College chiefs tried to lure would-be business students with glossy pictures showing Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and St Paul's Cathedral.

The website for the Commonwealth College of Business Management London claimed applicants could "study in one of the most incredible places in the world - the City of London".

In reality, the college is based 18 miles from Westminster in Northwood Hills, which is closer to Harrow and Ruislip.

The Advertising Standards Authority has now upheld complaints that, by using photos of the landmarks, college chiefs misleadingly implied that it was located in, or near, central London.

Banning the advert, the watchdog said: "We considered that prospective students who viewed the website, and international students in particular, would not necessarily be familiar with the geography of London and would expect from the website that CWC was centrally located."

It said the college is near Northwood Hills Tube station in Zone 6. That is 31 minutes or eight stops from Baker Street station and 47 minutes or 10 stops from Oxford Circus.

The ASA rejected complaints about a magazine advert circulating in Hertfordshire and west London which showed Tower Bridge and Big Ben, saying that local readers would not be misled.

But it upheld complaints about a photo of the college building on the website and in the magazine. This implied that the campus comprised the whole building, when it only occupied one floor.

The ASA also upheld a complaint that the magazine ad misleadingly claimed to offer "highly qualified and experienced faculty members". It said it had received no documentary proof that the college had faculty members on its books or contracted to work for the next academic year.

In response, the college said that its campus was a 40-minute journey on the Metropolitan line to central London. It said a principal, deputy principal, dean and other lecturers had been contracted, but changes to student visa requirements would affect its prospects and "they may be forced to close".