Hundreds ‘cheating online’

HUNDREDS of people in West Lancashire are cheating on their partners, according to a new “index of infidelity”.

Figures from Illicit Encounters – an online dating site for married men and women – have revealed that 716 people in Skelmersdale are registered as members, up from 682 last year.

The index also revealed that 396 people in Ormskirk are registered as members, up from 372.

Illicit Encounters mapped the location data of each of their members against each city’s adult population to find the most adulterous places in the country – based on data from 1m postcodes.

Around 1.1m people across the UK have registered with Illicit Encounters since it was first launched 15 years ago.

They claim that 20,000 people cheat on their partners using the site every week.

The website also says it has seen registrations soar by 20% in the last five years, in part because many couples can’t afford a divorce, thanks to economic pressures and rocketing house prices.

Christian Grant, a spokesperson for Illicit Encounters, said: “We provide an outlet for men and women who would have an affair whether we were there or not.

“In coming to us, they can be assured of meeting a like-minded partner seeking some added excitement in their life who doesn’t want to upset things at home.”