CYBER crime specialists from Cleveland Police believe that there are more 1,400 computers affected with a Trojan horse in the force area.

The force has released the statistics following a highly-sensitive operation with the aim of locating where Trojan horse malware exists.

The areas most affected are: 600 in Middlesbrough; 400 in Billingham; 130 in Saltburn and a further 70 in Hartlepool.

Officers are hosting an online web chat for anyone who wants to ask questions about Trojan malware or other viruses tomorrow between 6pm and 8pm.

PC Ian Turnbull from the Cleveland Police Cyber Crime Team said: “We believe more than 1,400 computers are infected throughout Cleveland and whilst we can’t specifically pin point the exact location by household, by raising overall awareness of Trojan horses we hope to reduce the figure dramatically.”

Anyone wishing to join the web chat can visit cleveland.police.uk or visit the Facebook and Twitter pages for Cleveland Police. Information and advice can also be found at getsafeonline.org