UNIVERSITIES in the region have pledged tough measures against cheating students after it was revealed that tailor-made essays could be bought on the Internet for as little as £10 a page.

The Northern Echo has managed to negotiate the purchase of a 2,500-word essay with a US academic research company for £100.

Universities have admitted they are aware of the problem, and warn they will expel students caught cheating.

Last week, it was revealed that law students from Durham and Newcastle were passing around the names of "essay banks" at parties, and paying up to £800 for good-quality law essays.

But The Northern Echo has discovered websites also offering tailor-made essays in most subjects, including english, history, politics, philosophy and theology.

One US website offered to send essays which had already been written for as little as £20.

Tutors said it was extremely difficult to detect commissioned plagiarism when they are teaching hundreds of students and do not have an in-depth knowledge of students' styles.

A spokeswoman for the University of Durham said: "We are aware of this form of plagiarism. We do not condone any form of plagiarism and, if detected, we take strong disciplinary action, which does act as a deterrent.

"There are some measures which are used at Durham to tackle this form of plagiarism, which include asking students to show members of staff drafts of their essays at various stages. Students can also be asked to provide a log of how they are doing the work and submit that with the essay."

The universities of York and Newcastle said they had a web-based software system in place which could track essays from students and compare them with essays available on the web.

They admitted the programme would not be able to detect commissioned essays, but both universities said they had strict controls in place in case of cheating.

A spokeswoman for Newcastle University said: "Most of our students are extremely honest and hard-working but, as with all universities, there is a very small minority who are prepared to take the risk and cheat.

"Out of 16,500 students, the university's disciplinary panel deals with about four serious cases a year.

"Those who are caught could be fined, downgraded or expelled.

"It is also marked on their records, which will affect their prospects of employment."