GROWING concerns about cyber crime in Gloucestershire has been highlighted by the leader of county’s police force.

Gloucestershire's Police and Crime Commissioner Martin Surl said crime committed on the internet, including fraud and bullying on social media websites such as Facebook were a real problem for many people.

He added that the police service needed to make sure it was equipped to deal with it.

“This is why I asked people in Gloucestershire if they felt it should be considered a priority for me and without doubt, they agreed,” he said.

“As a result, I have made it one of the priorities in our Police and Crime Plan. I know the constabulary is working hard to develop a coordinated response to a many layered problem and this additional funding will help it achieve this."

Currently police officers are dealing with cases on a day-to-day basis and there is ongoing training to make sure they are equipped to do counter cyber crime.

Work has also been carried out over the last few months to establish long term plans to tackle the problem.

Responding to the comments, assistant chief constable Richard Berry said: "Cyber crime is a growing problem that covers a huge spectrum of issues from cyber bulling and online fraud to global attacks on our infrastructure.

“Cyber crime is a real issue and we want to ensure people in Gloucestershire are not left vulnerable to these criminals."