An Internet watchdog aimed at cracking down on rogue traders across the north is to be set up in North Yorkshire.

The computer crime and forensic unit would be based at the county council's Northallerton headquarters, but would cover an area including Durham, Northumberland, Lancashire and Cumbria.

Other authorities, including City of York Council, will be able to use the service in the future.

It will be set up with £150,000 provided by the Department of Trade and Industry, and will dedicate two specialist officers and equipment to fighting bogus companies using the Internet.

It will also offer the expertise to forensically examine computers seized by officers during their investigations, providing evidence of businesses' trading history.

Stuart Pudney, North Yorkshire's head of trading standards and regulatory services, said: "Every day, more consumer transactions are made over the Internet.

"Virtually every type of product and service is available over the Internet and consumers need to be protected from false descriptions, misleading prices, inaccurate credit deals and a whole range of consumer-related frauds.

"Alongside the massive increase in legitimate trading on the Internet, there has also been a major rise in its use by bogus and unscrupulous traders looking to use it as a place to hide and take advantage of consumers."

Richard Flinton, assistant head of trading standards, said: "The Internet is the largest growing market place that there is, and we have a duty to monitor and police it.

"Doing that is much more difficult than with normal companies because of the anonymity that it offers traders."

A spokesman for City of York Council confirmed that bogus Internet trading was also a matter of concern in the city.

He said officers were this week at a conference in Cardiff about Internet fraud.

Updated: 10:30 Wednesday, June 20, 2001