Snowed in Brits 'turn to adultery'

An extra-marital dating website claims thousands of Brits are turning to adultery to relieve the boredom of being snowed in.

Spouses forced to work from home are flocking online to search for new romances, according to IllicitEncounters.co.uk.

The site, which provides a forum for married people looking to start affairs, says it has gained more than 2,500 new members over the past six days.

And it says the majority of whom are registering from the areas worst-hit by the extreme weather.

Many of the new applicants are from Hampshire, Berkshire, and West Country, with more than 900 new members joining from Dorset, Devon and Cornwall in the last three days.

The rise in membership is thought to be caused by the boredom of being stuck at home in the snow as the UK knuckles down for its coldest winter in 30 years.

Sarah Hartley of IllicitEncounters.co.uk said: "The adverse weather has obviously influenced many sign-ups. Usually, the West Country is a relatively quiet area for us - but over the last 3 days we have received over 900 new members from Cornwall, Devon and Dorset.

"Perhaps these wives and husbands have just been waiting for a time when they could join, away from the eyes of their work colleagues and, most importantly, their partners."