A COUNCIL website has been offline since Sunday due to an ongoing cyber-attack.

Redcar and Cleveland Council services are limited, and the website does not load.

When visiting the site, an error message is displayed stating access has been denied.

Residents trying to contact the council via phone and email may struggle to get through as it works on a reduced capacity, prioritising urgent matters and “frontline” services.

It is not currently known why the council’s site has come under attack, but cybercriminals typically try to obtain data or other restricted items within the system.

A spokesperson from Redcar and Cleveland Council said: “We are investigating what appears to be a cyber-attack on the Council's IT servers.

“We are currently working to resolve the issues as quickly as possible, alongside the relevant authorities.

“Our priority remains our frontline services and these have continued as usual.

“We currently have limited capacity for phone calls and emails, and we are prioritising urgent matters. There may be a slight delay in dealing with non-urgent matters and, at present, our website remains down.

“We are progressing work to restore our IT services and we are confident we can continue to provide our key services to the public.”

Redcar and Cleveland Council could not confirm the type of attack.

Cleveland Police have confirmed they are aware of the situation.