Dirty Harry has been causing havoc in a council's computer network.

The virus, also known as the Nachi worm, is believed to be responsible for disruption at Eastbourne Borough Council.

Staff have admitted that frontline services such as benefits and council tax had been hit after technicians were forced to shut all computers down but said systems were back on today.

A statement said: "IT specialists have been working continuously over the bank holiday weekend to minimise disruption.

"Some services are still experiencing a few residual problems that stem from the virus and these outstanding issues are being addressed.

"The council would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused and assure customers that everything is being done to achieve a speedy return to normal service."

Last week, The Argus reported how East Sussex County Council staff were forced to switch off 3,500 terminals in an attempt to stop the virus spreading.

And terminals in Sussex police offices across the county were still off today after the virus infected computers through incoming email.

The Nachi worm is believed to have been created in a bid to destroy the MSBlast virus, which has been infecting machines since July.

Despite its good intent the worm has caused problems of its own, causing terminals to reboot every 60 seconds and slowing systems down.

Owners of smaller businesses appeared to have escaped infection.