Storm of complaints greets BBC forecasts

The BBC was today caught up in a storm of controversy over its new state-of-the-art weather bulletins

With computer generated animations of the elements, the corporation had promised a much clearer picture.

But the £1 million forecasts, which replaced the longfamiliar sun and cloud symbols, only served to annoy viewers and the BBC website was flooded with complaints.

One disgruntled mother said: "My daughter, who is 8, watched the weather with me this morning and she asked me what was wrong with the television."

Viewer Neil McClean complained: "I had no idea if rain was on its way because the symbols had gone."

One viewer even claimed that the effect of a camera zooming under the clouds had caused motion sickness.

Others said that the three-dimensional representation of Britain was out of proportion, discriminating against the North. Owen Smith wrote: "Are people in the North going to be offered a reduction in their licence fee for this poorer service?"

Viewers with black-and-white televisions were also left at a distinct disadvantage as the new graphics use subtle differences in colour to show sun and cloud.

While the outlook appears bleak, the BBC insisted it would weather the storm. In a statement it said: "Today's media is like a shark. Either you keep moving forward or you are dead in the water."