St Helens BC has put in place extra security measures after a suspected ransomware attack on its IT systems and networks.

The council said it immediately alerted its external cyber security contractor once the attack was identified last week and an investigation has been launched.

A spokesperson said: ‘Some internal systems to the council are currently being affected due to the actions we have put in place to prevent any further impact and while a full investigation is undertaken.

‘Please be reassured that together with our cyber security specialists we are working to resolve this incident, but obviously this is a very complex and evolving situation.'