RESIDENTS in Yorkshire have been urged to make sure their home CCTV and webcams are secure, after a website hacked live feeds around the UK.

A report by the Information Commissioner's Office found the Russia-based website was providing live feeds from almost 100 cameras in homes and businesses around the UK, including four in North Yorkshire.

Two feeds in Harrogate and two in Beverley were among 98 from around the UK, with Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield, and Doncaster targeted in Yorkshire, but London, Manchester and feeds in many other areas were also hacked.

The ICO alert said: "The footage is being collected from security cameras used by businesses and members of the public, ranging from CCTV networks used to keep large premises secure, down to built-in cameras on baby monitors.

"With 350,000 of these cameras sold in the UK alone last year, this is a threat that all of us need to be aware of and be taking action to protect against."

Anyone who uses these devices have been urged to take steps to ensure their cameras are secure, including: - Changing the default password on the device to something more secure which cannot be easily guessed.

- Checking all available security settings and taking the time to read the manual on equipment to find out how to make it more secure.

- Secure all other devices with internet connections to avoid them being accessed remotely.

For more information go to ico.org.uk