DUDLEY North MP Marco Longhi has said he is pleased to hear South Staffs Water is taking action to support customers after a cyber attack led to people's personal details being shared on the dark web.

The Conservative MP told the Commons he and at least 249,000 others had seen their bank details posted on the dark web after a cyberattack on the parent company of South Staffs Water.

He said: "In July, South Staffs PLC, the parent company of South Staffs Water and Cambridge Water, experienced a criminal cyberattack.

"Following the incident, they found evidence that some of their staff and customer data had been accessed.

"With investigations still ongoing, it has now been confirmed that at least 249,000 customers who pay by direct debit, pretty much all of my Dudley North constituents and myself included, have now seen their personal contacts and banking details available on the dark web.

"The incident took place in July, and customers have only in recent weeks been made aware of the real scale of the damage."

But he added: "I am pleased that having now met with South Staffs Water they have committed to upping their game and are taking better action to support our constituents."

South Staffs Water said in a statement on November 29: "We've been working with leading forensic experts to investigate fully. Our investigation has now found the incident resulted in unauthorised access to some of the personal data we hold for a subset of our customers."

The company said support had been put in place for customers, including a helpline, and the statement added: "Our investigation into the incident continues and if we establish that other customers need to take action we will, of course, let them know as soon as possible.

"We are also working closely with the police and relevant government and regulatory authorities."