Two young ladies forced to move address after their old house was destroyed by fire have complained about the refusal of Virgin Media to change the address on their contract.

The broadband internet supplier made it clear that the pair would have to pay a cancellation fee if they wished to end the deal which had been signed up for using the fire-hit address, reports the Guardian.

It is said that the women were asked to pay a £200 penalty for ending the contract, even though there was no way they could have continued to receive broadband services at their old home.

"It's a real slap in the face for two hard-working and hard-up young women, one of whom has just been made redundant," Nicky Brindley, who was forced to cough up the fee, told the Guardian.

"I can't believe they can't bend the rules in circumstances as dire as ours, but instead we got nothing but attitude from call centre staff."

Virgin Media, which has just launched its new super-fast 50Mb broadband service, has subsequently apologised and refunded the victims.