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A teenage photographer is suing a US porn film company for damages after it used a photo of her aged 14 on the front cover of one of its DVDs.

Lara Jade Coton, now 18, was "shocked and disgusted" that her self-portrait, which she put on the internet, had been used without her permission.

Miss Coton, of Tamworth, Staffordshire, has filed a lawsuit against the film company through a California court.

TVX Films, which made the film Body Magic, was unavailable for comment.

'Pretty frightened'

Miss Coton said she found out that the photo had been used when someone e-mailed her asking her permission to use it on their blog.

Porn DVD using picture by Lara Jade Coton
The photo was downloaded without Miss Coton's permission

She said: "I was shocked and disgusted because I was 14 at the time the photo was taken.

"My family were outraged.

"You don't expect your image posted on a website to be taken for something like that.

"I was pretty frightened, especially about what people's reactions might be.

"If I didn't put the case in now, in years to come - because I want to be a successful photographer - then what would happen?"

She said she had e-mailed TVX and was told that her photo was "to blame" for the DVD's poor sales.

She said: "I was very angry. Their reaction was quite shocking."