preg_replace() issues

[davidw]

I'm having an issue with a thread
for example, if someone puts a < (less than symbol) in a thread, it turns a result into a link.

Right now I'm using

PHP Code:

$news['pagetext']        = preg_replace('/^,/', '', $news['pagetext']);
$news['pagetext']        = htmlspecialchars_uni(strip_bbcode(fetch_censored_text(substr($news['preview'], 0, $charlimit)))); 


but the preg_replace doesn't work.
I've tried using

PHP Code:

$news['pagetext']        = preg_replace('/</', '', $news['pagetext']); 


also.

I've not had to deal with preg_replace before, but I've also never seen preview issues where it turns the text into a link because of the < symbol either.

Any help is appreciated.