Reality television star Chantelle Houghton has failed in a bid to force a magazine to reveal the source of a story it planned to publish.

She wanted a judge to order Closer magazine to reveal the name of the source after claiming that information relating to her had been leaked.

But Mr Justice Hayden today refused.

Detail of the information Houghton complained had been leaked cannot be revealed for legal reasons.

A lawyer representing Houghton asked Mr Justice Hayden to order Closer to reveal the name of its source at a High Court hearing in London.

Gina Allwood told how Houghton had become concerned when the magazine told the star's publicist that it "wished to go to press".

But the judge said he thought that launching an inquiry into the identity of the source would serve no benefit and told the court: "The integrity of sources is fundamental to the operation of a free press in a democratic society."

Houghton appeared in Celebrity Big Brother in 2006.