THE BBC admitted yesterday that a documentary portraying life in Campbeltown as a "dead-end experience" was biased and misleading.
The 50-minute programme, Campbeltown, provoked a f lurryof complaints along the Mull of Kintyre when it was screened in August last year on BBC2.
It followed the lives of four disillusioned teenagers, filmed drinking alcohol and driving fast cars to relieve the boredom of living in a place devoid of opportunities or entertainment.
The BBC governors' programme complaints committee (GPCC) upheld a complaint that it was "deliberately dishonest and misleading" and agreed it had followed the "predetermined agenda" of Paddy Wivell, its London-based director.
Alastair McKinlay, the councillor for Campbeltown Central, said: "The show was poorly produced. It showed the town and its young people in a bad light. Most people here feel the damage has been done. I'm quite happy that the town has been vindicated."
The programme was introduced with the words: "It has little to offer its young . . .These teenagers are faced with trying to find work locally or leaving for a new life elsewhere."
In its judgment - made after nine people complained - the GPCC said the portrayal was "unduly negative".
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