Morrissey is threatening legal action against a documentary maker over the sale of a candid documentary of the singer on tour.

South With Morrissey, a 30-minute film shot during the South American leg of the Oye Esteban tour in 2000, was originally meant for TV broadcast.

Director Barry Derbyshire recently set up a website (www.southwithmorrissey.com) offering DVD and VHS copies of the documentary. A spokesman for the singer told NME, "Derbyshire has no rights to the film - all sound and visual elements are owned by Morrissey. The availability and sale of South With Morrissey is against Morrissey's wishes, and will force the inevitable legal action."

The director claims he had a verbal agreement with the ex-Smiths frontman to make the film but that numerous requests for feedback from him on the completed documentary were ignored.

On his South With Morrissey website he says that it is not a "corporate product", continuing, "It is a record of Morrissey's first tour of Latin America and I have created a DVD because I want to present the material in a more complete way."

He says, "This film is not some tacky 'Moz reveals all', it is just my interpretation of events in Latin America."