An online shopping channel has had its knuckles rapped by the independent television commission after it told viewers a diamond ring was worth five times its true value.

A presenter on the Ideal World Home Shopping Channel said a diamond cluster ring it was recommending to viewers as its "pick of the day" had a recommended retail price of £1,999.

The ring was being sold at the promotional price of £599 plus postage and packaging.

But one viewer who bought the ring was told by two separate independent valuers it was worth no more than £399.

The ITC asked Ideal World to prove that the ring had an RPI of £1,999 after the viewer complained that the claim constituted misleading advertising.

The company told the watchdog its supplier had provided evidence to back up its claims, but that all the papers had inadvertently been returned and it had no copies.

The ITC said "in the absence of any evidence to support the claim that £1,999 was a true and accurate recommended retail price" it had judged the advertising to be misleading and upheld the complaint.