UP to 120,000 customers of one of the most famous cafes in the country have been warned their personal details are at risk after computer systems were breached.

Bettys - the North Yorkshire based bakery and tea rooms which has cafes in Northallerton, York, and Harrogate - said their systems were illegally tapped into and customer data information copied.

Managers are emphasising that credit and debit card details have not been copied and are not at risk, but are advising online customers to change passwords as soon as possible and treat any unsolicited phone calls or future emails about personal and financial information claiming to come from Betty’s with extreme caution.

The company prides itself on making traditional, handmade pastries, cakes and chocolates and has built up a reputation as one of the leading tea rooms in the UK, starring in Visit Britain's Top Ten, and sends delicacies around the world through its website.

Bettys emailed all online customers advising them to go to a new website it has created with information about the problems at help.bettys.co.uk.

A spokeswoman for the company said the breach happened as the result of an industry-wide software weakness that allowed someone to illegally gain access to information including names, email addresses, postal addresses encrypted passwords and telephone numbers,

"Bettys takes customer confidentiality extremely seriously and we have carried out a full investigation with our security partners," she said.

"The software issue has been addressed and further security measures have been put in place.

"Whilst customer passwords were encrypted, there is a risk that they could still be vulnerable so, we’re contacting all customers with details of the situation and advice regarding password protection.

"It’s a completely unprecedented event for us and we’re extremely sorry that the breach has occurred."

The company say the website is now operating normally and once customers have changed their password, orders can be placed again with confidence.

Dedicated customer care lines have been set up on 0800-368-3302.

* Bettys was originally set up in 1919 in Harrogate by Swiss baker Frederick Belmont and his wife Clare, and is still run by descendants of the family, although the name has long been a source of mystery and no one is sure who the original Betty was.

Famously it has refused to open cafes outside Yorkshire. Nearly 1,300 people are employed in the company which also includes Taylors Tea of Harrogate.