Manchester station Key 103 ran the sweepstake on the day the convicted murderer was given last rites in hospital.

It could have been handled more responsibly and sensitively Radio Authority

Listeners were invited to guess the time of her death, with the closest receiving £500. Hindley died on 16 December last year.

The Radio Authority upheld three complaints it received and ruled on Friday the station had acted irresponsibly.

It acted on complaints from listeners who heard the item, broadcast soon after news of Hindley's last rites were broadcast.

Hindley had been in jail since 1966 after being convicted convicted of the murders of Lesley Ann Downey, aged 10, in 1964, and Edward Evans, aged 17, in 1965.

Her ex-partner, Ian Brady, is still in jail serving a life sentence with no possibility of parole.

'Legitimate topic'

Hindley died at a West Suffolk Hospital, near Bury St Edmonds, having suffered respiratory failure.

The Radio Authority ruling said: "We believed that the depth of feeling within the area against her was a perfectly legitimate topic for the station to explore,.

"But it could have been handled more responsibly and sensitively to reflect the revulsion felt in a less sensationalist manner."

Key 103 had defended their broadcast: "It captured something of the mood of the audience, providing our listeners with the opportunity to express their often very impassioned views about Miss Hindley."

The Radio Authority said the main source of complaint had been in the "sensationalist" manner in which the station had run the item.