A Durham man has been questioned by police investigating international computer hacking.

Andrew Harvey, 21, of Scardale Way, Belmont, was taken from his homes by Durham police in a series of dawn raids last Wednesday morning.

Jordan Bradley, 19, of Darlington, was also arrested at his home.

The two men have been questioned about an international hacking group believed to be responsible for a creating an internet worm that has infected 18,000 computers worldwide, including many in the UK.

The gang, dubbed THr34t-krew, is suspected of creating the self-replicating worm that has caused an estimated £5.5m of damage to businesses worldwide.

Another man was arrested in a raid at an address in Illnois which was part of the same interantional operation.

Computer equipment seized at all three locations will be subject to detailed examination.

The police raids were carried out in a joint operation between Durham police and the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU) in London.

Three officers from the USA's Computer and Technology Crime Hi-Tech team, based in Southern California, were also present.

Neighbours were shocked at the arrest of Andrew Harvey, who lives with his father.

A woman resident said: "They seem to run a business from the house hiring out sunbeds with his father.

"I am just flabbergasted that he has been arrested for anything at all let alone something as serious as this.

"It is a very quiet street, nothing remotely scandalous has happened here before as far as I am aware."

Jordan Bradley, an apprentice electrician, also lives with his father, in Bates Avenue, Darlington.

The suspects were taken to Darlington police station for questioning about alleged offences committed under the Misuse of Computers Act 1990.

The compueter worm, which affects companies' ability to do business, lies dormant in infected computers until is triggered by specific commands.

These commands could range from scanning other computers for weaknesses, attacking systems or distributing the worm to more computers.

Det Supt Dave Jones, of Durham Constabulary's head of intelligence, said officers from the force's computer crime unit and specialists in Southern California had been working closely together during the past month planning the operation.

Det Supt Mick Deats, deputy head of the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit, said virus writing and hacking were serious crimes which cost UK firms millions of pounds in lost business and downtime.

American computer expert Seth Fogie first became aware of the THr34t-krew after he was called in by a business which was having difficulty with its internet connection.

Mr Fogie discovered hackers had taken over the computer and had turned it into a server containing over 3GB of illegal software.

He later tracked a link to the gang's web page, which has now been taken off line.

Mr Harvey and Mr Bradley were released to answer police bail in Darlington on April 3.