A new crime map website has crashed within hours of its launch at midnight.
The street-by-street guides tell users how safe their neighbourhood is by allowing them to see the number of violent crimes, robberies and burglaries recorded in their area. This is the first time ever that such information has been revealed.
But members of social networking sites like Twitter have reported problems accessing the web page, with many receiving an error message.
Crime map shows Britain’s most dangerous areas
David Moore, director of Rock Kitchen Harris, which developed the maps, blamed high demand for the problems, arguing that the site “will be back shortly”.
“We’re aware of it, the demand has been crazy which is a good thing. Between 4m and 5m people were looking at it every hour,” he said.
A Home Office spokesperson said the technical problem was due to high demand and was being fixed.
“We are delighted with the response which shows how popular this new information is with the public,” they added.
