MORE parents have come forward in response to a story of a company who took money over for child modelling and acting contracts, but have yet to provide any offers of work.

Ria Mitchell, of Hayes, contacted Hidden Talent, of Pinewood Studios, to register her son, Calum Swain, five, at the beginning of this year.

The mother of two, who is currently living on income support, asked her mother to pay the £150 required by Hidden Talent for registration fees and test shots.

Despite initially getting a warm response from the agency, she has since heard nothing and fears she has been conned.

She said: "After making some enquiries, the staff at Hidden Talent were so enthusiastic - Calum was his usual chirpy self and they said there was no reason he would not find work, as he had such a bubbly personality.

"But when we went back to make the payment, they had completely forgotten who he was. We had our reservations but handed over the cash."

Miss Mitchell added that six weeks after making the payment and receiving no correspondence, she contacted Hidden Talent - who insisted regular emails had been sent.

She later discovered the web-site had closed down and has heard nothing since.

A grandmother who does not want to be named also confirmed she fell victim to Hidden Talent - but managed to get her money back.

She paid £268 for her now 14-year-old grandson to register with the agency last August, using her Visa credit card.

She said: "The agency said I should call back every week to find out about any available jobs, which I did almost without fail, but I felt like I was being fobbed off.

"I went on holiday in March this year and a month later, I tried to call again, but no one has ever picked up the phone since.

"In May, I actually went down to Pinewood Studios to have it out with the agency and heard that they were kicked out for being bad tenants.

"I started digging and found out they have gone into receivership.

"After contacting the liquidators, I was sent a report which I took to Visa, and was fully reimbursed in July - but they said had I paid with cash or cheque, there would be very little chance of getting the money back."

* Liquidators Leigh Adams LLP,which is registered with the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors,said it would not discuss the matter with anyone other than creditors.

Contact them on 020 8446 6767 or visit Brentmead House,Britannia Road, London, N12 9RU.