The City Council shut down its computer systems last week

Computer systems and phone lines were temporarily switched off as a “precaution”, the BBC reported.

The story was broken by the BBC. You can read the full story here

The report from the BBC, said: “The authority said on Friday that it had disabled the systems temporarily as a precaution.

“It said it was working with cyber security specialists and law enforcement agencies to determine what had happened.”

The council apologised for any inconvenience caused.

What did the council have to say?

The Council's Strategic Director of City Developments and Neighbourhoods, Richard Sword, said: "We have shut down some of our systems while we investigate a cyber incident, as a number of other local authorities have had to in recent months.

"We are liaising closely with the experts at the National Cyber Security Centre and law enforcement partners as part of our investigations.

"We apologise for the inconvenience this is causing, and will continue to do all we can to minimise any disruption to our front-line services."

Mr Sword added: "People can still access advice and information on our website, including emergency numbers if they need to contact us.

"We are asking people to use these numbers only in an emergency.

"We are not able to say when our investigations will be complete. We will provide updates in due course."