Greater Manchester's top policeman was deluged with thousands of junk mails last week in an apparent attempt to disrupt police communications. At the peak of the assault on 28 April, GMP Chief Constable Michael Todd was receiving 2,000 spam messages an hour, the BBC reports. Some of these messages came from someone who claimed to know where Todd and his family lived. Others were spoofed so as to appear to originate from US president George Bush.

A GMP spokeswoman said the attack was contained by its existing safeguards, which prevented any disruption to its communications. The motive for the attack remains unclear. Police have launched an investigation. ®

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