U-turn on horror poster

Tube chiefs have been forced into an embarrassing U-turn after banning posters for a horror film about murder on the Underground.

The adverts for Creep were not allowed on grounds of "taste and decency" because they showed a bloody hand scraping down a train carriage window.

The ban was imposed despite the fact that London. Underground had actually helped the film-makers shoot the British movie on location in disused stations.

It was lifted today following the intervention of the Evening Standard. But the producers of Creep say that the decision was "too little, too late" because they have already paid for replacement posters in mainline stations.

The film's publicists cannot get new posters up in time for its launch next week.

Funded by the UK Film Council, Creep was directed by ex-EastEnders scriptwriter Christopher Smith and stars German actress Franka Potente, 30, who appeared alongside Matt Damon in The Bourne Identity. Critics have called it the best horror film set in the capital since American Werewolf In London.

It plots the fate of a smart young woman who leaves a party to find a less boring one but never arrives.

Drunks and sewage workers are shown being dragged into Tube tunnels and cut up with a chainsaw. It was filmed in three disused stations - Down Street near Green Park, Strand and Aldwych.

Producer Julie Bain said the poster ban was "highly amusing" because the movie had been filmed with Tube bosses' permission. "It's a bit ludicrous," she added. "This is fiction, not documentary. It's not based on real events - if it is, we are all in trouble."

An LU spokesperson said today: "We co-operated fully with the making of Creep and wish the film every success. A poster was submitted to our advertisers in the summer but rejected on grounds of taste and decency. Our advertisers always try to maintain the highest standards on behalf of LU. We have since reviewed this issue and the Creep posters will be allowed on the Tube."