SENIOR police officers from East Lancashire are helping to crack down on child pornography using information passed on by the FBI in America.

Lancashire Police have set up an investigating team at their Hutton headquarters as part of a national inquiry codenamed Operation Ore, in which police have been targeting users of pay-per-view websites based in the US.

Information has been passed on by the FBI, which has been probing child pornography websites in a long-running investigation.

Five people have been arrested so far in the county, including 43-year-old police officer Paul Thompson.

Computer equipment from various houses has been seized and police have vowed that the thorough crackdown will continue.

Det Supt Mick Turner, who is leading the inquiry in Lancashire, said: "The force received a number of names and other information following an inquiry in America into child pornography on the internet.

"For some time now our intelligence officers have been working thoroughly and systematically to link those details to specific people.

"These extensive inquiries are necessary to avoid making mistakes in identity and to provide enough information for the police to take any action

"The details provided to us by our colleagues in America is not our only source of intelligence and this inquiry will investigate other information relating to the use of child pornography on the internet in Lancashire."

Mr Turner said inquiries were continuing, although he would not reveal information so not to endanger future prosecutions.

The FBI identified thousands of paedophiles last March when an agent in Texas successfully hacked into a website run by a child pornography ring called Candyman.

He uncovered credit card details of 7,000 people -- 2,400 of them outside the US -- who were purchasing indecent images of children.

Details of the British subscribers were passed on to the London-based National Criminal Intelligence Service.