FIVE county hall workers have been suspended for unauthorised use of the Internet.

The Dorset County Council officers are currently being investigated internally following allegations that they contravened strict guidelines on the use of the world wide web.

They were suspended following a routine audit of all registered users of the Internet within Dorset County Council.

Just 1,388 of the council's 12,000 employees have access to the Web and they are allowed to use it for personal projects as long as they follow strict guidelines laid down in an agreement they have to sign.

Sue Hyde, the county council's head of communications said: "Just a twelfth of our staff have access to the Internet. Such access is governed by a written agreement, signed by the relevant member of staff.

"Personal use of the World Wide Web is permitted, but there are restrictions on the sites that may be visited and the times that the facility may be used."

She said staff often used the Internet in their lunch breaks or after work for college courses or other personal projects in line with the rules, without problems.

She said that safeguards were in place restricting access to certain sites but would not confirm whether the allegations of unauthorised use against the five suspended workers related to that or to them using their PCs to access the Internet in work time.

And David Jenkins, Dorset County Council chief executive, said: "It is routine procedure to suspend staff during an investigation into possible misconduct. No judgement should be made until our investigation ascertains the full facts.

"I would also like to make it quite clear that Dorset County Council fully appreciates the value of the World Wide Web to any forward thinking organisation.

"However, any misuse of the facility by our staff will be viewed as a serious breach of professional trust - giving rise to appropriate disciplinary procedures."

He said no further statement would be made until the investigation had been completed.