London: Ringo Starr, the former Beatles drummer, will no longer respond to fan mail.

Starr last week issued an official statement on his website saying that if anyone wanted his autograph, they should seek it before Oct 20. Any requests after that will be ignored, reports ananova.com.

The media slammed this decision but Starr insists he was forced to make such a decision. He explained the ban saying it "was in direct response to an inordinate amount of items which have recently appeared for sale on auction website eBay, and to those that repeatedly send cards and items to be signed."

He added: "Real fans have acknowledged that I have always signed items and was, in fact, the only Beatle to have done so."