An American teenager is suspected of creating a virus that crippled Sussex Police computers.

If it is proved, the force may take international legal action.

Jeffrey Parson, who had been under surveillance by the FBI for several weeks, allegedly made a version of Blaster, a virus known as an internet "worm".

The same type of worm arrived in the Sussex Police system last week as an email to a laptop computer carried by a senior command team member.

The force has not identified the officer but said he was unaware his laptop had been corrupted.

The force has since launched a review of their computer security systems after a worm virus brought to a halt virtually all of the force's 2,500 terminals for almost a week.

The worm, known locally as Nachi, threw the organisation back to the days of pen and paper in seconds.

Hundreds of support staff and police were left staring at blank screens.

The effect on the public was minimal and no force staff were sent home but some left their offices.

The 18-year-old American teenager was arrested after a raid on his home in Minnesota where FBI agents seized seven computers.

Parson has allegedly admitted creating the most sinister of the Blaster worms and is under house arrest.

He is due before a court in Seattle next month and faces ten years in prison.

A Sussex Police spokesman last night said: "We do not know if the individual arrested in America was responsible for the Nachi worm virus, which affected Sussex Police non-emergency systems last week.

"If it materialises they have caught the offender, then we would seek legal advice regarding our position and what action we could take."