Contestant may have considered vibrating pager

AN army major and his wife may have considered a vibrating pager ploy before deciding a system of coded coughing offered a better chance of winning the top prize on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, a court heard yesterday.

The possible original scheme came to light after they and a college lecturer were arrested following Charles Ingram's apparent success on the popular TV game show.

Police discovered that for months before the 39-year-old soldier was handed his seven-figure cheque by programme host Chris Tarrant, an avalanche of numeric messages had been sent to pagers from the couple's phones.