TWO North-East men arrested in connection with a national internet child porn ring were released on police bail tonight.

The pair, who have not been named, were arrested this morning on suspicion of creating and distributing pornographic images of children.

Their computer equipment was seized by Cleveland police in a dawn raid on a semi-detached house in Stockton-on-Tees.

Police interviewed the pair, both middle-aged, before releasing them on bail while the computer was examined by the force's forensic computer crime unit.

Detectives nationwide investigating the distribution of child porn on the Internet arrested 14 people across the UK and in Dublin as part of a seven-month operation.

Operation Barcela involved officers from 11 forces, which executed 15 search warrants under the Protection of Children Act 1978, a Scotland Yard spokeswoman said.

London's Metropolitan Police spearheaded the operation through their Obscene Publications and Internet Unit, a part of the Met's Clubs and Vice Unit.

Chief Inspector Chris Bradford, co-ordinating the operation, said: "I want to make it very clear that offenders can no longer hide behind the anonymity of Internet technology. We can trace and identify you.

"This type of crime involves one of the most vulnerable groups in society and we will take every step we can to protect them."

Four men were arrested in North London, aged between 20 and 32, and a man was held for questioning in Dublin after Garda seized pornographic computer images in the south of the Irish capital.

Other forces involved included Devon and Cornwall, Lancashire, West Midlands, Hertfordshire, Suffolk, Northamptonshire, Hampshire and Derbyshire.