DETECTIVES were delighted when a woman logged on to their new website to report an insurance fraud.

But Cleveland Police soon realised the crime was a bit off their patch - several thousand miles, in fact, in Cleveland, Ohio.

Force administrator Andy Gray said: "We didn't expect our website to be recognised abroad. This lady's geography was a little mixed up."

The website was only launched two weeks ago to promote Cleveland Police.

The woman had used the website's feedback form to detail her trans-Atlantic allegations.

"This was sent anonymously, and there was quite a bit of information. If you recognised the names, it might make sense," said Mr Gray, who is still puzzled how the woman failed to realise she was contacting police on the wrong continent.

"It would be pretty difficult not to realise that you were in the wrong country.

"If you look at the page, everything is geared towards Teesside."

The information has now been passed on to Interpol.

Meanwhile, a US businesswoman who believed she had booked a room at the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou, China, was stunned to find her actual reservation was ready and waiting on the other side of the world - in North Yorkshire.

Claudia Niera mistakenly reserved a room through the Internet for eight nights at the White Swan in Pickering, after confusing the two websites.

Owner Victor Buchanan said: "It was a surprise because she would have to go to our home page and it is pretty clear that we are not a 603-room hotel in the centre of southern China."