'Hurt Locker' producers sued by sergeant

The producers of The Hurt Locker have been sued by an army sergeant, according to reports.

Master Sergeant Jeffrey Sarver has claimed that screenwriter Mark Boal based "virtually all of the situations" of the award-winning film's events on himself.

Lawers for Sarver also argue that he coined the phrase of the title and that the film's central character James uses his nickname "Blaster One" - which was apparently the officer's "call signal" in Iraq.

The film's distributor, Summit Entertainment, said in a statement: "We have no doubt that Master Sergeant Sarver served his country with honour and commitment risking his life for a greater good, but we distributed the film based on a fictional screenplay written by Mark Boal."

The BAFTA-winning movie's producer Nicholas Chartier was recently caught up in controversy after sending out emails requesting the backing of the war-film and also criticising contender Avatar.