The producers of a popular musical are thousands of pounds out of pocket after a legal wrangle with Andrew Lloyd Webber's production company.

Lord Lloyd Webber's The Really Useful Group took action when it learned Mark Rattray's Music of the Night was being shown at Eastbourne's Royal Hippodrome.

They said the title breached trademark law as permission to use the name, which is the title of a song in Lord Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera, had not been sought.

That prompted show producers, Surefire Entertainments, to place an order with printers to replace promotional posters.

Last night Really Useful said it would allow the name to be used until the end of the show run in September.

But Surefire has said the offer has come too late and they are thousands of pounds out of pocket.

Bob England, managing director of Surefire, and personal manager of Mark Rattray, said: "This goodwill offer is news to me.

We asked if we could keep the name until September but the company wanted it changed immediately which is why we've had all the posters reprinted.

"We had offered to change the name to Mark Rattray Sings Music of the Night but they flatly refused.

"We then agreed to change it to Songs of the Night after September when we finish at the Hippodrome but they wanted changes immediately."

A spokesman for The Really Useful Group said: "We first heard about this production in April 2002 and promptly contacted the producers.

"The Really Useful Group owns the UK trademark registrations of Music of the Night covering, among other things, printed publications.

"Neither Mark Rattray nor the producers of his show approached us to request permission to use this trade mark."